Looming Darkness: Nightfall
by Shadow Horizons
Summary: Part II. After the events of Daybreak, Sora and his friends depart on a mission from the King to be a symbol of hope in uncertain times. But time is not on their side. Darkness gathers at every turn. Maleficent has six of the seven Princesses of Heart. All she needs now to succeed is Kairi. Will Sora and his friend prevail over the forces of Darkness, or is Nightfall inevitable?
1. Chapter 1

_Hey everybody!_

_Boy, it is good to be back and I have to say, I am downright excited for this new installment of the Looming Darkness. But, I'll save my excitement for the notes at the end._

_Enjoy!_

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_Disclaimer: Shadow Horizons only owns his own original characters and plotlines. He owns nothing more than that._

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_**Looming Darkness: Nightfall**_

Chapter One: The Adventure Begins (Again)

"_Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."_

_Saturday, November 13th, 4794 P.C._

_(Four months after the Battle of the Sun's Shadow Festival)_

_Hall of the Cornerstone, Disney Castle_

"I don't have long, your Majesty. The Apostles have grunt soldiers out patrolling the city and I can't stay in this spot for too long." Mickey frowned at the flickering projection displaying the image of his cloaked spy. Weeks without contact had left him worried, and the quality of the transmission only furthered that. "Maleficent and her forces have abandoned the Castle That Never Was. Near as I can tell, they left in a hurry, but they've been gone for awhile. Almost four months."

Mickey crossed his arms, averting his gaze to the Cornerstone of Light. "She must've known we'd be coming for the Cornerstone eventually. But now we don't have any clues as to where she might've gone. Did you find anything at all that could tell us where she went or what she's planning?" Mickey was doing his best to keep his tone calm and even. He was loathe to admit just how much this news was troubling him.

The spy shook his head. "Nothing different from what you thought she's up to. There's an incomplete 'heart moon' here, so she might be planning on using Organization XIII's plans as her own, just in case whatever she needs the Cornerstone for doesn't work. I'll keep searching over here on my end, just to be safe. It's going to be difficult though. The Apostles of the Star are still using the Castle as their headquarters. Looks like they didn't feel like going with Maleficent."

One of the other projections in the room, displaying the image of Sephira Arks, shifted at the news. "Without Maleficent and her other allies there, the Apostles should be an easier target." She bowed her head toward Mickey. "Excuse me, I must prepare an attack on their hideout."

As her projection faded, Mickey turned his attention back to the image of the spy. "Anything else?"

"Yes. I looked into the matter regarding the loss of communication with Beacon Academy. All of Remnant has been lost to the Heartless. I was unable to confirm if Professor Ozpin or any of the Beacon Academy students successfully made it off world. And with Traverse Town missing as well…"

"Refugees have been turning up in the outskirts of Radiant Garden frequently," a projection of Leon spoke up. "We have patrols searching constantly now and I'm in talks with the senate about expanding the outer walls to make room for additional houses for refugees. But they're probably going to keep turning up here and occasionally in the Crystal Empire until Traverse Town can reform."

"Furthermore, there's been no sign of Project Freelancer since they recalled their agents and soldiers two months ago." The spy glanced behind him, checking for something Mickey and the others couldn't see. "The Director has also refused all communication with the rest of the Alliance through our communication network."

"Does that mean Freelancer now works for Maleficent?" The projection of Alan Westerlund spoke up. "After all, two of their agents went rogue and attempted to kidnap Princess Kairi, did they not?"

"The two agents in question were merely posing as members of Project Freelancer to get access to Kairi." All eyes turned back toward Leon. "Only one of them survived the crash on Lynfael and she turned herself over when our allies arrived on scene. We turned her over to Freelancer for trial before we lost contact."

"It's also unlikely that the Director would choose to side with Maleficent." Mickey was pacing the chamber again. "They were already involved in a war of their own before we met them. They probably returned to their world."

The spy's head turned suddenly, looking at something none of the rest of them could see. "I have to go, your Majesty. They're getting too close." Mickey nodded in agreement.

"Be careful," he warned, just before the image faded away.

"Barely four months old and our alliance is already being pulled apart." The projection of Jessica Rhodes, newly elected mayor of Destiny Islands spoke up. She adjusted her glasses and fixed the King with an expectant stare.

"Having second thoughts about joining us?" President Westerlund, stepped forward, clearly prepared to defend the king.

"Of course not." Rhodes shifted her focus onto the President. "I agree with my predecessor's decision to join this alliance. The people of my Islands agree as well, especially after the battle of the Sun's Shadow Festival. But they need reassurance that this won't be a mistake. How does it look if the alliance keeps losing important allies?"

"Then we simply need to replace them with new allies," a projection of Yen Sid said, stroking his beard as he glided across the room. "Yet, the number of prospective allies drops with each world claimed by the Heartless. Mickey, have you had any word from your old friends?"

The King shook his head sadly. "I got a hold of Duncan, but he fears another Blight is rising up in Ferelden, so we shouldn't expect him or the Gray Wardens of Thedas to be of any assistance. Donald and Goofy agreed to go look into it when they get back from traveling with Sora."

Mayor Rhodes cleared her throat, drawing attention to herself. "Speaking of this so called 'Keyblade's Chosen One', when is he going to return from checking in on the friends he made across the worlds?"

_-LD-_

_Destiny Islands_

The Kingdom Key and Destiny's Embrace were driven into the sands, crossing each other in an 'X' shaped pattern. The sand around them had been cast around by what had clearly been rapid movement between two people. Not far from the Keyblades, their Wielders lay side by side, wrapped in each others' arms.

"You're late," Kairi muttered as she nestled her face against Sora's chest, both still covered in sweat from their impromptu sparring match.

"Not my fault. Donald wouldn't let me fly the ship." Sora absentmindedly played with a few strands of Kairi's hair. "He said I was going to wreck it."

"Well, your last ship did kind of crash and explode."

"That wasn't _my_ fault. Naminé's crazy warlock did that." Sora pulled his gaze away from Kairi, instead focusing on the ruins of the play island to the South. "At least the island looks better than the last time I was here. The lack of fire is a plus."

"Thanks to yours truly!" Kairi beamed with pride. "That's where I've been doing most of my training. So I had to clean up the mess a bit so I'd have room."

"Did anything survive the explosion?"

"The waterfall is still going. A few flowers are growing back. That weird star thing in the cove somehow made it through intact." Kairi tilted her head up as she thought. "The doorframe to the shack is still standing, but the rest of the shack is gone. Oh! The flames didn't make it all the way into the Secret Place, so our drawings are still intact. Granted, I had to dig the opening out, but at least it helped me work on my Gravity magic."

"I see that. You've gotten a lot better." Sora poked at the tattered remains of his shirt before removing them and stuffing them in his pocket, leaving his chest bare but for his crown pendant. "Your fire magic is a lot better too."

"Your fault for not being prepared. And no, I'm not buying you a new shirt."

"What? But Kairi…" She giggled and flipped herself over, bringing her hands down on his upper arms, theoretically pinning him to the sand with herself poised above him like a great hunting cat. Sora looked up at her in surprise and placed his hands on her hips, liking where he thought this was going. She was dressed modestly in a pink t-shirt and black skirt, but he could see the dagger she'd gotten for her birthday three months ago in a sheath strapped to her right thigh and the pendant he'd given her hanging down from her neck.

"I like you without a shirt," Kairi purred, and gently traced a finger across his chest. "Because I get to see this." Her fingers slid across the scar just below his ribs. "Proof that you're the bravest person I know."

Sora grinned and leaned in to give her a kiss, but a loud yawn interrupted them. Riku was approaching them from the road into town, clearly exaggerating his exhaustion. He spotted them, and stared for a second before speaking.

"Dude, what happened to your shirt?"

"Kairi burned it," Sora answered truthfully. Riku tisked.

"Were you really that desperate to get some lovin' after this loser was gone for four months, Kairi?"

"Not my fault he underestimated me." Kairi stuck her tongue out at him. "Careful, or I'll burn yours off too!"

"And doom me to the adoration of the female population of Destiny Islands? I didn't think you'd be so cruel, Kairi, especially after I spent the last three months with a modelling gig."

Kairi giggled. "You? A model? I know you're hot, Riku, but that's a totally new level of vanity from you."

"I was _Olette's _model," he explained. "She wanted to use me for reference on how to forge Keyblade Armour."

"So? Can she now?" Sora asked. "I want something sweet." Riku laughed woefully and shook his head.

"Don't ask for anything more than gauntlets or greaves just yet," he said. "There are still a bunch of kinks that she needs to work out."

"Like…?"

"Like not having a spike impaling your stomach when it forms on you." Riku lifted his shirt up, displaying a worn bandaged wrapped around his midsection.

"Ee…" Sora and Kairi simultaneously moaned. "Yeah, perhaps not."

"It'll be nice to see Olette again," Kairi added wistfully, "so long as she doesn't want to experiment on me."

"Don't worry," Riku told her. "She's already done and fixed the female armour. Nikki and Nanaki are both good to go; she's just having problems with the guys. And getting all the fun perks that my armor has to work right."

"Let me guess," Sora sighed, "she wanted to make sure that she could get her own safely first?" Riku nodded. He looked at Kairi again.

"Well, are you and Naminé all packed and ready to go?" Riku asked.

Kairi flinched.

"Let me guess, you haven't even tried packing yet?" Riku laughed. Kairi chuckled in embarrassment and rose from her knees. "Lazy bum. Just like Sora."

"Y-yeah, I guess I'd better finish. Um, would you guys like to come back with me and help?" Sora smiled and stood up.

"Of course," he told her. "Besides, I probably shouldn't steal you and Naminé away without first seeing your mom." Kairi nodded, joking about how that would only be the polite thing to do, and the three friends started to make their way away from the beach and into town.

"So, how have things been here?" Riku asked. "What's everybody been up to?" Kairi placed a finger to her chin in thought.

"Well, Selphie and Tidus are...not quite dating; they're in denial that they like each other. School started up again, but we missed the enrollment date, so we won't have to worry about Naminé and myself failing due to skipping several months to go save the worlds. Speaking of, according to Selphie everyone at school has been wondering about you, Sora. And they've been asking me about you too whenever they fin...see me."

"Really?" Sora asked, interested. He placed his hands behind his head in his trademark pose while he walked. "What are they saying about me?"

"They've been wondering if and when you were coming back, for how long, and if they could get your autograph."

Sora was too speechless to say anything, so Riku said it for him. "His autograph?"

"Yeah," Kairi said absently. "Lots of people saw him fighting the Heartless during the Festival. Sora's got tons of admirers now; so do Olette and Nanaki, come to think of it, and Nikki and Pence even. Though Pence's fans are mostly the Followers of Arcturus. Naminé's also had to deal with a few fans. You guys were the most visible of all of us fighting them, though."

"What about Hayner and Roxas?" Sora asked. "They and Axel were also pretty active in town."

"Forget them," Riku said. "What about me? I was running around all over the place! Doesn't anybody want to know how I'm doing?"

Kairi snorted. "Nobody knew it was you, though. You were wearing that armour that nobody had seen and your helmet was covering your face."

"Ugh…"

"Oh, _now_ you don't like the helmet," Dawn's voice said from the bangle on his wrist. "You were pretty fine with it when the HUD was telling you where Heartless were hiding behind buildings."

Kairi stared at Riku's wrist. "So that's the AI that runs your ship and armour, huh?"

"_I_ run my armor, thank you," Riku huffed.

"That's what you think." Dawn's tone couldn't be more smug. "You wouldn't even know how to work the calculator."

"Stop insulting my intelligence," Riku bit back at the AI. "I studied under Ansem the Wise." Kairi and Sora exchanged thoroughly amused looks. If any passerby were to look at the trio, it would appear as though Riku was having an argument with his wrist.

"Are you calling me a liar, sir!?"

"Yes. Yes, I am."

"Fine then," Dawn said in a huff. Light suddenly enveloped Riku, and he was now walking beside Sora and Kairi, encased fully in his Keyblade Armour. "Go ahead," Dawn prodded, still heard by both of those not involved in the argument. "Work the calculator. I'm not going to help you with anything."

"Dawn," Riku growled in irritation, "I don't need the armour right now. Put it away."

"No, _you_ put it away, mister smart Keyblade Master."

By this point, both Sora and Kairi were having a hard time avoiding cracking up, especially as it turned out that Riku had been seriously overestimating his own ability to interface with his HUD without his AI's assistance, and he became increasingly flustered and frustrated until Dawn gave him a walkthrough right there on the spot.

"Don't worry, Riku," Kairi said later, after she'd recovered from her laughter and reached up to place a hand on her friend's shoulder while he shuffled along with wounded pride. She had to reach much higher than she had used to; had Riku really grown three inches in the last four months? "Even though nobody knows it was you, your armoured self has his own comic book."

That cheered him up greatly.

Eventually they reached Kairi's house. It still looked much the same as it always had, though Sora and Riku did note one new addition. There was a small house built in the yard, big enough for a large dog, but there was no dog within it.

"Kairi?" Sora asked. "Did you get a dog?" He was looking around, but he couldn't see a four-legged canine anywhere. Kairi stiffened, suddenly fearful.

"Uh-oh," she whispered. "Ozzy?" the redhead called uncertainly. "Ozzy! Ozzy where are-!?" A yip sounded behind them, accompanied by nails striking the road, but they had barely half-turned towards the sound before a little bundle of copper and grey fur collided with Kairi's lower back, taking her to the ground in surprise. The girl made a startled, "Oof!" noise, before laughing and playacting. "Oooh, you got me Ozzy," she wailed, bemoaning her fate. "I'm done for now, unless I can catch you!" She twisted around, and grabbed the creature's front paws in her hands, wrangling with the cub that was playfully pawing at her prone body. It started licking her face, causing Kairi to laugh and make a little bit of a fuss. She grabbed him by the scruff of the green leather collar around his neck and placed him down. "Ozzy, sit."

Sora and Riku watched, slightly in awe, as the animal sat. Not just because it had obeyed, but because it wasn't a puppy that had just tackled Kairi and playfully nipped at her shoulder. The young animal, with its round head and soft-looking bushy mottle of grey, white, and copper fur, wasn't a puppy dog; it was a wolf cub.

"Kairi," Sora began hesitantly, "that's a wolf."

"I know it's a wolf cub, Sora," Kairi replied. "I've kinda had him for the past three months." She sat down and patted the ground next to her. "Ozzy, come." Immediately, the wolf cub moved to where she'd indicated, and Kairi started to scratch the little guy behind the ears and half hugged him with one arm. Sora took a step forward and the cub's ears flattened. He growled, bearing his teeth, but didn't advance. Sora stopped immediately, recognizing at an instinctual level that the predator was potentially threatening him. "Ozzy, no. Ozzy, this is Sora. And this is Riku. They're friends, Ozzy. Friends. We don't hurt friends, Ozzy."

The cub did not appear to be responding, and Sora felt a little bit of embarrassment that he was getting frightened away from his girlfriend because of a tiny little wolf cub. However, that base part of his brain that was genetically wary of beasts reminded him that that tiny little wolf cub had sharp teeth that would _really_ hurt if they bit him.

_I could kick it, and I'd win,_ a tiny part of his brain rationalized. _I'm much bigger than it and I've got reach._

"Don't you dare kick my wolf!" Kairi scolded, almost as if she'd read what was going on in his head.

"Kairi... that's a wolf," Sora said again.

"I think you broke Sora, Kairi," Riku said, though his joke was told with less humour than he meant as he, too, was wary of the small lupine in front of them. Only Dawn wasn't anxious about the predatory animal, and so her version was said with rambunctious aplomb.

" has encountered an error and needs to close." Her laughter echoed from Riku's bracelet. "It looks like you're trying to get Sora to work. Would you like help? I've got thousands of these. I can keep going all day."

"That's great, Dawn. But have you considered this?" Riku shook his arm around, eliciting a cry of surprise and annoyance from Dawn.

"Hey! People live in here!"

Kairi glanced down at Ozzy, watching with a smile on her face as the wolf cub tracked the movement of the bracelet intensely. "Hey, um, Dawn, can you see?"

"I did convince Olette to install optical sensors in this device, yes," Dawn answered. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason," Kairi said, a little too innocently. Riku cottoned on too late to stop her from saying, "Ozzy, fetch!"

"Uh-oh!" Riku yelped as the wolf cub made the distance between him and Kairi in under a second. Ozzy snapped his jaws towards the bangle on Riku's wrist, and Riku started dodging as the cub kept attempting to fetch it from him. Kairi started busting her ribs laughing as Riku and the wolf kept moving in a circle with Riku's arm held up out of the cub's reach and Ozzy jumping into the air after the bangle.

"What? No! Bad doggie! Bad doggie! Sit! Heel! Roll over! It's not working! Why is it not following standard protocols? Riku protect me!"

"Screw this!" Riku muttered after Ozzy connected with his wrist and nearly scratched his skin with a near miss of his teeth, and slipped the bangle off of his wrist and gently lobbed it onto the grass a few feet away from him. Ozzy went after it like a bullet. "No hard feelings, Dawn! I don't want to lose a hand."

"You sold me out, Riku! I'll get you for this! And her little wolf too! Eek! I can't see! It's dark in here, and he's got his teeth all over my hardware! Please don't scratch anything Ozzy! Riku this casing had better be waterproof!"

"To Naminé," Kairi urged as Ozzy came back to her with Dawn's bracelet in his jaws. "To Naminé!" Ozzy leapt past her and darted for the doggy door that had been installed in the front, disappearing within the house with Dawn's cries of, "Help! Help! I'm bring repressed!" fading behind.

"That was almost kind of mean, Riku," Sora struggled to speak through his laughter,

"It's payback." Riku's grin couldn't be wider. "She'd been poking fun at me the entire time I was helping Olette."

The front door opened before their laughter could stop, and out walked Naminé with little Ozzy at her heels. The wolf cub walked straight back to Kairi while Naminé stood in the doorway with a smirk on her face and the bracelet dangling off of one finger. "It certainly got noisy out here all of a sudden," declared the blonde, now walking down the stoop. "And I find the culprits are none other than my kinda-sorta Master and Riku. Welcome back, guys."

"Good to see you again, Naminé," Sora greeted. "You packed and ready to go?"

"Yes, I am. I can't wait to see Roxas again," Naminé said. She gestured to the door. "Come in. Mom probably wants to see you two too. Oh and Sora," Naminé paused and turned back to him while still in the open doorway. She grinned. "Nice four-pack."

Nodding, they entered the house, Ozzy growling a little at the two boys but doing nothing more serious than that and Sora grinning like an idiot at the compliment. Kairi said that she was quickly going to go have a shower and that they could wait in the kitchen. Melissa was at the kitchen table, reading a book. She glanced up as they entered the room, and a big smile lit up her face.

"Sora! Riku! It's great to see you both." She got up from her chair, moving around the table to give both of them big hugs. She looked like she'd been putting on a bit of weight recently, but she did manage a restaurant and had been going through a tough time recently, so it wasn't that unusual. " And Sora, when did you become such a stud? The last time I saw you I'm sure you were all skin and bones! You could give Riku a run for his munny now." Sora blushed and rubbed his head, looking away from his apprentices' mother while Riku chuckled. Melissa sighed. "You're here to take my daughters away to fight evil, aren't you?"

"That's the plan," Sora said. "Er, sorry about that Mrs. Brightheart. We'll try to keep in touch better this time than the last."

"That would be appreciated," Melissa replied with a soothing smile.

"Yeah," Naminé added sardonically, "because we _want_ to let everyone know when we're drifting out at sea for over a week without food or water just for the sake of keeping up appearances when we're still able to access the ship."

"When did that happen?" Riku asked.

"On our way to El Dorado," Sora replied, taking a seat at the look that his apprentices' mother was giving him, one that clearly told him to explain himself. "We got caught on a Spanish Galleon captained by this guy called Cortez and..." he drifted off, seeing the book on the table. "Um, Mrs. Brightheart, what's with that book?"

She quickly glanced away towards the book, smiled, and looked back at him. "Your girlfriend is going to be a big sister, Sora," she answered, eyes starting to water a little. "Jonathan gave us something to remember him by."

"You're expecting?" Riku asked after a moment of both him and Sora being stunned. Melissa nodded, and Sora got up from his chair and gave the woman another hug. Now that weight gain around her stomach suddenly had a very different connotation. Sora smiled broadly, glad that there was some happy news.

"That's wonderful news," he told her. "When's the baby due?"

"In about five months," she replied. "I raised Kairi since she was a young girl, but I've never had a baby, so we've been studying up as a family. Jonathan and I had tried. We'd tried so many times after we got married, especially after your father knocked up your mother, Riku; but it had never worked out. We felt so blessed when Kairi came into our lives, and now, now after all this time she's going to be an older sister. Jonathan would..." she stopped and wiped her eyes. "He'd be happy. It'll be challenging without him, but he'd have been happy."

"And it's one of the reasons why Kairi isn't packed yet," Naminé added. Her mother nodded.

"Yes. And it isn't healthy."

Sora and Riku looked between the two of them. It appeared as though they had had this conversation before. "What's up with Kairi?" Sora asked.

Naminé and Melissa both sighed heavily.

"These last four months since you all left have been really hard on her," Naminé said softly. "Not only did Dad die in our arms; he did it to protect Kairi. On some level, she feels guilty for it. The battle left her completely shaken."

"After you left she was just... empty," Melissa added. "There were days where she wouldn't leave her room, not even to eat, and others where she'd barely eat anything and then go for a walk in the morning, and we wouldn't see her again until late at night when she came home. There were nightmares; she had- has... trouble sleeping still. We were all going through therapy after what happened, but Kairi didn't want to talk. It was breaking my heart."

"Then Mom found out about her expectancy about a month into her pregnancy, and things changed," Naminé said. "All of a sudden our sleep became more peaceful, and it was like Spring had come or something. Like Dad hadn't really gone; he'd just changed where he was. Then one day, Kairi goes out for her walk, and comes home at about two, soaking wet in the rain with Ozzy cradled in her arms and looking at Mom with the sappiest little kid puppy dog eyes you've ever seen; and of course Mom doesn't have the heart to tell Kairi 'no', so we adopted an orphaned wolf cub."

"Ozzy, up!" Melissa commanded, and the little cub got up into her lap so that she could scratch his ears. "If we first thought that my pregnancy was a gift from John, then Ozzy coming into our lives was one from the gods. After a month of sullen quiet and depression Kairi started smiling again, and laughing, and _talking_. Even though she was right there every day I hadn't realized just how much I had missed the sound of her voice. This little rascal breathed life into this house again, and I want him to go with you."

"What?" Riku asked. "But, shouldn't-" Melissa shook her head firmly.

"I really love Ozzy, but taking care of him and _training_ him, he is a wolf after all, are Kairi's responsibilities. It's what we agreed on when she brought him home with her. The wolf goes with you. Don't worry about me; I'll be fine," she added, seeing the boys' faces. "Your mothers come over and see me every day. I won't want for companionship, and they're getting to relive their days pregnant with you two and giving me all sorts of advice and stories."

"Uh, stories?" Sora asked uncertainly. Melissa gave him a wolfish grin at the same time as Ozzy.

It was rather unsettling.

"Oh yes, stories," she answered.

"I would just like to remind everyone before this conversation goes any further that at the time I was an infant."

"Doesn't excuse the fact that you did it," Naminé said jokingly. Sora sighed over dramatically.

"But, it's because of that same worry that has Kairi waffling about going with you or staying here," Melissa explained. "Every day for the past week she's changed her mind about going off with you and Naminé, exploring the worlds and fighting Maleficent, or staying home with me."

"She'd be completely packed one day," Naminé butted in, "all ready to go and pumped for getting out there, and the next morning she'd dump everything she'd packed all over the floor, saying, 'Screw it, Mom needs me.' It kinda got old three days ago."

"Oh," Sora said. He was quiet for a second. "I had kinda thought that we'd stay the night and leave in the morning; maybe take her to Club Vinyl like I'd promised…"

"No, you are taking my daughter and leaving tonight after supper before she changes her mind again," Melissa told him sternly. Sora leaned back, wary of the fierceness of his girlfriend's mother's voice.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Riku interjected with a humoured expression on his face, "but it sounds like you just told Sora to run away with Kairi and elope."

"Well it might do her some good," Melissa murmurred.

Sora was absolutely stunned. He could hear that the others were still talking, but his brain was having trouble understanding the words that they were speaking. In his head there was an image of Kairi standing in front of a sunset, all dressed in white and looking more beautiful than he'd ever previously imagined. Melissa let out a small chuckle at his expression, just before her own turned deadly serious.

"Of course, if you elope with my daughter, I'll hunt you down."

"So you don't want Sora as a son-in-law?" Naminé asked, a knowing smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Not while they're sixteen, I don't!" Melissa fired back at her other daughter. "Same goes for you and Roxas, missy."

Riku groaned dramatically. "You mean that she actually approves of that dork?"

"He's not a dork," Naminé said defensively. "He's sweet. You know what he gave me on his last stop by here with Axel?"

"A tub of sea-salt ice cream?" Riku asked dryly.

Naminé flinched and didn't say anything.

"Dork," Riku proclaimed.

"And this is why you don't have a girlfriend!" Naminé countered, and left the room in an angry huff. Kairi passed her sister/Nobody just as Naminé was leaving the room, and then looked at the gathering in the kitchen curiously.

"Did I miss something here?" she asked.

"Is Riku mocking my brother new?" Sora replied.

"No."

"Then no, you didn't." He gave Kairi a once-over, now that she'd changed into an outfit that left him stunned. A white silk shirt covered her chest, with a sandy brown sheepskin vest on over it. Her legs were covered by a pair of black slacks, and across her shoulders was draped the emerald and gold cloak that Tidus and Wakka had given her for her birthday. The dagger Bael had gifted her was again on her right thigh, with several smaller ones on her left; and the beautiful pendant Sora had presented her with four months ago was hanging down from around her neck. Kairi's hair was still damp from her shower and clung to her shoulders; it was longer than it had been when he'd left, and her complexion was a little...redder, as though her skin was flushed, probably from the heat from her shower.

She looked like a battle-maiden from a storybook; a warrior princess, and it left Sora speechless for several seconds. Kairi looked at him, giving her boyfriend a humoured expression, and said, "What?"

Blushing, Sora cleared his throat and averted his eyes for a moment before finding hers again. "Actually, Kairi, can I leave Riku here with you to help you pack? I need to make a dinner reservation."

"We're going to dinner?" Kairi asked, interested. "Like on an official date?"

"Not really," admitted Sora. "More like us four and our parents at Destiny's. There is a nice place on Radiant Garden I'd like to take you to, though, if we have time."

Kairi smiled. "I'd like that," she said softly.

"And what about me?"

Everyone turned to look for the source of the deep voice, coming from the door to the backyard. Richard was standing there, with a frilly white apron on over his cloak and a feather duster in his hand. Lily the bunny was sitting on his head like some kind of fancy hat, and Richard was looking at them with some kind of emotion that wasn't a desire to kill things. "I'd like to go to dinner as well. Would I be allowed to cook? I've gotten rather good at it, you know."

Awkward silence followed.

"What happens if I say no?" Sora asked.

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" Richard counter-queried. Sora stared at him for a couple of seconds, weighing his options.

"Nope. Okay Richard, you can come; but you can't cook your own food, or the chefs, or the other diners, or the wait staff, and you especially are _not_ allowed to cook her mother!"

"Then how is dinner going to be any fun? I don't want to go now. I've uninvited myself." Richard flicked his feather duster flippantly at the Keyblade Master and walked away, with everyone else in the room breathing a sigh of relief.

"So, he's still here?" Sora turned to Naminé as she walked back into the kitchen, a pile of folded dish-towels clutched in her hands. "I'd have thought you'd have gotten rid of him by now."

Naminé simply shrugged. "He kinda grows on you in a weird way. And at least he listens to me, so it's not like he's out loose in the world."

"Also, don't think I didn't catch you calling me your 'kinda-sorta Master'."

"That's what you are though," Naminé shrugged him off. "The only time you've ever acted like our Master was when you taught Kairi and I how to Glide. Other than that, not so much." Sora opened his mouth to defend himself, but was cut off by a rather loud knocking at the front door.

Melissa turned to him and smiled sweetly. "Sora, would you be a dear and get the door? That's probably your mother." Wordlessly, and still focused on his conversation with Naminé, Sora did as he was asked, only to find himself staring at a rather tall and obviously muscular man in a suit. He actually had to look up in order to see the man's face.

"You're not my mother."

"Understatement of the year," the man muttered to him.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

"Not him. Me." The mountain of a man stepped to the side, allowing the woman he had been blocking from view to step forward. Like her companion, she was dressed in a suit, but had chosen not to wear a tie. Pinned to the lapel of her jacket was a small brass emblem in the shape of a key with five stars curved over the top of it. She was several inches taller than Sora, allowing her to look down her nose at him with her sharp green eyes. "Master Sora, I presume?"

"Yes, that's me," Sora answered warily, "and you are?"

"Jessica Rhodes," the woman answered, adjusting her glasses, "the new mayor. I was told that I'd find you and Master Riku here. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Mayor Rhodes asked, eyes roving over his half-naked form.

Sora hastily extended his hand towards the mayor in a handshake, and she broke into a smile. "Oh! No you aren't. Sorry about that. Kairi burned my shirt off during an impromptu sparring match when I let my guard down," Sora said. "It's nice to meet you, Mayor Rhodes, but I have no idea who would have told you that we'd be here."

"His Majesty, King Mickey," Rhodes answered. "He said that you were heading back to the Islands and that the first place you'd go when you got here would be here."

Sora laughed and said, "My friends know me too well."

"Sora!" a voice called from within. "Who's at the door?"

"It's the mayor, Mrs. Brightheart," Sora called back before turning to the woman and her bodyguard. "Would you like to come in?"

The mayor held her hand up. "That's hardly necessary. I just wanted an opportunity to meet you in person, as well as give you these." She handed him a pair of envelopes, one with his name, the other with Riku's. "See you at the ceremony!"

"Wait. Ceremony?" Sora looked up from the envelopes, only to find her back to him as she and her bodyguard walked away. All he got in response was a dismissive wave. "What ceremony?"

_-LD-_

_Exin Port, Destiny Islands_

"Oh. This ceremony." Sora let out a low whistle at the sight of the crowd gathered at the port, finally wearing a shirt again after madly dashing home, saying, "Hello Mum, I'm back," and grabbing a plum purple polo shirt from his closet.

"That's quite the crowd," Naminé added. "It's like the entire island turned out for this."

"Only three thousand people can fit into the area designated for the ceremony, but Mayor Rhodes ensured that the local news will be out here to broadcast it." A young woman informed them as she approached the group.

She was dressed in a military dress uniform, Alliance, from what Sora was able to guess given the situations he seemed to be finding himself in these days. On her chest he could see a grey five-button waistcoat with two button-clasped pockets on either side. The buttons were silver (or a _very_ shiny aluminum), each of them bearing a crossed sabre and staff embossed on them with the word 'ALLIANCE' beneath. Upon the cuffs of her sleeves were red bars, two thick ones sandwiching a thin one, with a stylized fireball above them. At the shoulder was a patch with the word 'ALLIANCE', and just beneath that was another bearing an upright wand shooting purple sparks over a black background, with a silver 'I' beneath it. On her chest above the right breast pocket was a grey tag with the word 'SHIMMER' etched on in red letters. Beneath the waistcoat they could see a collared scarlet shirt and a black tie. Below the waist her legs were covered with grey pants of the same colour as the waistcoat, creased sharply down the middle until they reached her feet. Those were covered in the blackest, shiniest boots Sora had ever seen before. Upon her head, covering much of her dark purple hair that had a thick magenta stripe in it, was a grey beret with a pin of the same silvery colour as the buttons but shaped differently than the embossment: an upright staff with two crossed wands set within a ring of stars.

"Master Sora Arashi, it's an honor to finally meet you." Her boots clicked against the pavement as she came to a halt just short of their group. Her right arm went up to the side until her upper arm was parallel to the ground and perpendicular to her body, bending perfectly at the elbow to give her the angle required to have the tip of her middle finger resting just beside the corner of her right eye, the fingers of her hand together and her palm flat and her knuckles facing outward towards Sora so the inside of her palm wasn't visible. It was a simple move, but done smartly and without fault.

"Arch Battlemage Tara Shimmer, reporting as directed, sir," she said while maintaining her salute and her smile, her purple eyes and mocha skin radiant with delight.

"Nice to meet ya!" Sora said with a grin. "But, why did you call me 'sir'?"

"As a Keyblade Master, the Alliance military honorarily grants you the rank of Major and I have been assigned to your unit as your liaison to Alliance High Council and to act as your adjutant," Arch Battlemage Shimmer answered, still holding her salute. "Thereby, even though we hold equivalent ranks between the Army and its subsidiary Mage Corps, you are my Commanding Officer, sir, and I am at your disposal as your administrative aide."

"I have a unit?" Sora blinked blankly, ignoring Riku's snort of laughter behind him. "I'm confused."

"The Alliance is assigning you soldiers," Riku explained. "And she's going to keep saluting until you salute back, or at least tell her to stop."

Heat rushed to Sora's cheeks as he realized that Tara was still saluting him, a knowing smile on her face. He quickly saluted back, but with nowhere near the practiced precision of his new adjutant, before rounding on his friend. "Why didn't anyone tell me about this before now?"

"They did." Riku shot him a questioning look. "Didn't you read what was in that envelope Merlin gave you last time we were there?"

The image of an abandoned manilla envelope with Sora's name written on it resting on the kitchen table of Riku's ship popped up in Sora's head.

"I take it from the look on your face that the answer is 'no' and I'm going to find that envelope somewhere aboard the _Dawn_, aren't I?" Riku asked. Sora knew that tone. Munny to donuts Riku had his eyebrow raised accusingly, but Sora couldn't tell since he'd donned his full armour again.

Tara Shimmer glanced at the wristwatch on her left wrist before looking up at Sora. "We should probably get going, Master Arashi. We're a couple minutes ahead of schedule, but you don't want to be late to your seat. You and Master Cremon are guests of honour, after all."

"Okay, then let's get going," Kairi said, fiddling with a little pink rectangular object in her hands.

Sora blinked and looked at the device. "Kairi, what's that?"

"It's my phone," she answered nonchalantly. "You missed a couple of things. Phones have touch screens now. I can even get internet on this thing."

"That's your phone?" Sora repeated, thinking about the flip-up device in his pocket that he really should use more often.

"Yeah. Just sending Selphie a text, asking if she's at this ceremony. Oh! And she's already replied. 'No, I'm not. Wish I was but I'm watching it on TV. Have fun and' hmm..." Kairi looked up from her phone at Sora, a funny little smile on her face.

"What?" Sora asked. "What did she say?"

"She said to give you a _biiiiiig_ hug from her!" Kairi declared, barely an instant away from doing just that. Sora feigned pain while Kairi squeezed. She giggled as Sora playfully fought her off.

"Yeah, yeah, tell her I said, 'thanks for the broken ribs'," Sora jabbed. "Now come on; let's go."

"Actually, sir," Arch Battlemage Shimmer said apologetically, "the guest of honour seats are just for you and Master Cremon. Your apprentices have different seats."

"What?" Naminé asked. "What do you mean we can't sit with them? This is discrimination against the junior ranked! And I just realized what I just said." Naminé sighed and placed her hand on her forehead. "Can you tell us where Kairi and I will be sitting, then?"

"Unfortunately I don't know exactly where your seats are, but someone will be along momentarily to show you to them," the Arch Battlemage answered. She gestured with her hand. "Right this way, Masters; if you will please follow me." Sora shrugged apologetically at Kairi and Naminé, and they waved him off with understandably annoyed sighs.

Sora and Riku found themselves behind a curtain up on a stage, with a small group of adults (whom Sora assumed must be important if they were back there with them). A dark-skinned man with a stern expression and dressed in a black longcoat was talking to a wheelchair-bound man whose body was mostly concealed by a white cloth. Mayor Rhodes was speaking in hushed tones to a red-haired woman dressed in a pristine pantsuit who was showing something to the Mayor on a transparent computer tablet.

"Well what do we have here?"

Sora and Riku turned as someone spoke up behind them. A young man, dressed in a white overcoat with deep red accents approached them. He had skin the color of molten chocolate, contrasting well with his overcoat and short, jet-black hair that was spiked up at the front. A pale blue staff, with an emerald at one end and a short blade on the other was strapped to his back. The image of a silver eye, superimposed over a red broadsword decorated both of his shoulders.

"I was wondering if I'd get to actually meet you two!" He was beaming with excitement and was quick to grab each of them by the hand, shaking them eagerly. "Devin Mayes, head of the Templars! Pleased to meet'cha!"

"Nice to meet you, too," Sora managed to say as Devin's shaking realigned his spine. "I've heard a little tiny bit about the Templars, but I'd have thought the leader would be-"

"Would be what?" Devin asked cheerily, turning towards Sora after finishing his handshake with Riku. The silver-haired Keyblade Master didn't seem to be reacting to the over-enthusiastic greeting but, again, he was fully ensconced in his armour, and Sora didn't have a clue what his friend was feeling inside of it.

"I dunno," Sora shrugged, "older. You look like you're a university student or something." Devin chuckled and clapped Sora on the shoulder, almost staggering him. This Templar _really_ needed to watch where he was throwing around his strength, especially since Sora was sure that something bad might have happened had he not already prepared for the blow.

"Positions in the Templars come from merit, Sora, not age or time served," Devin answered. He looked curiously at Sora, still holding a smile. "How much do you know about our Order, anyway?"

"I know that there's lots of different 'Templar Orders' scattered all over the worlds," Riku answered when Sora drew something between a blank and a straight line. "King Mickey once mentioned one to me of a world called Thedas, where they exist to keep the mages of the world in line."

"Just a small example of how common the Templar name is, then." Devin's grin never faded once. "There's other worlds where a Templar Order seeks to control the whole world through subtlety and manipulation. Another where the Templars are merely a form of religion. And so on, and so on."

"So what does your Templar Order do?" Sora asked.

"Ah! Now that is the question I like young folks like you to be asking," Devin eagerly began, clapping his hands together and rubbing them with zeal. "We're always looking for new recruits, after all. Perhaps I can win you over, eh? Now the Templars, the ones I command, mind you, are dedicated to a rather simple task. Much like how Keyblade Wielders protect the Realm of Light from falling to Darkness, we Templars protect certain physical items from those with bad intentions.

"Take the Cornerstone of Light for example. Years ago, the Cornerstone sat by itself on a hillside in the middle of nowhere with no protection whatsoever. In order to protect the Cornerstone, one of our own established a town nearby where she could keep an eye on the Cornerstone. Before long, another member of our order would rise up and build an entire castle dedicated solely to the protection of the Cornerstone, and from there an entire kingdom."

"Hold on." Riku held up his hands, interrupting the Templar. "Are you trying to say that Mickey was a Templar?"

"Once upon a time," Devin said. "Not anymore, mind you. At least not actively. He's got kingly things to do as a king. But the protective instinct he developed in the Templars never went away, now did it?"

"Seats, everyone! We're about to begin!" the Mayor called out. "Thirty seconds!"

"That's my cue," Devin sighed. "Guess I'll have to hit you two up to finish this chat some other time."

"You're not going to stick around?" Sora shot him a questioning look.

"I'm a busy man, Keybearer. I've got other things to see to," Devin laughed as he donned a pair of sunglasses. "Catch ya later!" A swirling portal of white and blue energy sprung to life and swallowed the Templar up in the blink of an eye, leaving only twinkling lights in its wake. Sora and Riku glanced at each other.

"If he wasn't here for the ceremony," Sora postulated while gesturing at the empty space where Devin had been only moments ago, "then what did he come here for?"

"Forget that," Riku said. "Did you see that? That looked like he opened up a Corridor of Light like I used to do with Corridors of Darkness. How'd he _do_ that?"

"I said 'seats'!" Mayor Rhodes had appeared behind them, eyes ablaze with irritation. "Now."

"Yes ma'am!" The two teens were quick to comply, dashing to their seats just to the right of a podium that had been set up center stage.

No sooner had they situated themselves when the curtain rose, exposing them to the evening sun and a cheering crowd of three thousand. Immediately they were blinded by the flashing of cameras, and Sora started trying to ignore the flashes of light as he scanned the crowd for three very specific women: his girlfriend, her sister, and his mother. Fortunately, he found them all sitting close to one another in the third row, beaming up at him. Sora nearly frowned in annoyance. His mother was one of the people adding to the hundreds of camera flashes.

Mayor Rhodes began to speak, thanking the crowd for attending and for anyone watching the broadcasts. She went on to explain the purpose of the ceremony: to officially recognize the Destiny Islands' induction to the Interworld Alliance. The chaos of the Sun's Shadow Festival was properly explained. And on she went.

For more than an hour she spoke about how joining the Alliance would benefit the Destiny Islands. She explained how it was something her predecessor had planned to do before the very forces the Alliance was fighting ended his life.

She introduced the people on the stage with her one by one as key figures and leaders within the Alliance, and explained their various roles within the Alliance hierarchy. Oddly enough, when she finally reached Sora and Riku, she did so not by name, but by merely introducing them as the two newest Keyblade Masters, and the primary drive behind the Alliance's main goal: Project Hope.

As soon as she said those words, machinery beside the stage began to operate. Winches pulled at metal cables attached to a giant tarp that had been covering up some massive structure, nearly twice as long as a soccer pitch in length and half as wide. It towered above them, big as what Sora imagined one of the giant battleships the Islands had once put to sea in days long past had been.

The tarp came away fully, and Sora gasped in awe. What had been beneath it was a gummi ship! No wonder the ceremony had been held at the port, for what better place would there be to unveil a new ship? It was just a bit shorter than the tarp, in order to have been fully concealed, with a main hull painted a steely white colour and artfully accented in red. It looked like a submarine or a fish, actually, with a long cylindrical body. Near the end of the stern a long tail-like strut extended from the base of the ship beneath the engine, and rose up on either side of the strut to form a ring circling that end of the ship. From the ring on the port and starboard sides were dagger, or shield-like protrusions, blocking sight of the top half of the ship's aft end. At the top of the ring stretched another, one that was nearly as long as the ship itself, with weapon turrets lining the top and a tall metal spire from where the ring connected, the spire appearing to serve as an antenna. Both the top strut and the lower one extended some eighty metres past the engines, and were connected again to one another by a straight shaft, giving the ship it's appearance of having a fish's tail.

The bow of the ship was a bulbous head with a thick, bracing neck that blocked Sora's sight of the rest of the vessel's body, though there was a large forward-facing cannon attached to the neck. Sora reckoned that he could stand inside of its barrel, it was so big! A circular nose came out of the bow, with a pentagonal shaped structure rising above it. What looked like heavily reinforced glass, the same as what created the bubble around the _Highwind_'s cockpit, was at the front between metal struts, with the sides capped in red.

Far larger than the _Kingdom _had been, Sora really had no idea in his head from his position just what its dimensions were, or how many decks were inside of it, just that this ship was no 'she'; it was without a doubt a 'he'. This was a man-of-war gummi ship, one built specifically for battle crews to man him and to take the fighting to the Heartless. The giant guns on his sides and the numerous turrets Sora could see on his underside were proof of this fact. It left him in awe.

"This is the _High Noon_," Mayor Rhodes said, no lack of pride in her tone as cameras flashed in the direction of the ship. "A Class One War Gummi. He is two hundred and eight metres long, a total of one hundred and two wide, and seventy metres tall from base to antenna. Armed, armoured, and shielded with the best and bearing a compliment of fast attack fighter as well as utility craft, he is the first of the Destiny Islands new Gummi ship fleet, and he will be serving as the mobile command center for all operations carried out by the Keyblade Wielders as they work to bring an end to the inevitable Darkness that looms over all worlds. That is the purpose of Project Hope. For wherever the Keyblade Wielders go, they shall bring hope with them. Hope that one day, no one need fear the Darkness. Hope to those terrorized by the Heartless. Hope to those who have given up. Hope to those who have lost everything. Hope to us all."

The curtains to the stage descended as the crowd applauded and cheered. Sora smiled and waved to the crowd as several cameras turned to capture a final, fleeting picture of them.

The mayor turned away from the podium and looked at Sora. "So?" she asked. "What do you think of your new ship, Master Sora?"

Sora blinked twice and looked at her, stunned. "M-my ship?"

"Of course," Mayor Rhodes told him. "Did you not hear what I was just saying?"

"I was a bit in awe of him, to be frank," Sora replied. "You're sure?"

"You and the other Keyblade Wielders of the Alliance need a ship to serve your needs," Mayor Rhodes reasoned. "Master Riku has a ship, but his is really only suitable for one to three people, and he has his own mission to follow. We had heard that your former ship had become too small to properly serve your needs with all of the allies you found. Therefore, we decided to grant you the first warship of Destiny Islands in the Alliance fleet to provide for you. It was time you received a command befitting your status."

"Whoa. You think this guy can command?" Riku chuckled, glancing his armour-clad head in Sora's direction. "Good luck with that."

Sora rolled his eyes. "Thank you, for that wonderful confidence booster, Riku."

"That's what I'm here for," Riku replied. "But seriously though, this guy has absolutely zero experience leading anyone, and he's being given full command of a warship and the troops aboard? Can you blame us for being skeptical?

"He'll learn, Master Riku." The three turned as a fourth person joined them.

He was tall, at least half a foot taller than Riku. His black hair was slightly unkempt in an almost windswept sort of way. The lower half of his face was covered in coarse stubble that was thicker above his lip and on his chin. His eyes were narrowed darkly as he approached them. He was dressed in a long black waistcoat with a red vest decorated in a dark flower pattern underneath. A cutlass was strapped to his belt, hanging off his left side. He scratched his stubble with his right hand, showing off the two gold and ruby rings he wore.

"Captain Jones, at your service," he offered his hand to the two teens. "I'm not a part of the Alliance's military, and I've never sailed a star ship before. But I do know how to command a ship and keep her crew operating her."

"I think the ship's a he though," Sora pointed out.

"In either case," Captain Jones continued, "I've been asked aboard the _High Noon_ to teach you how to captain _it_ properly."

"Okay then." Sora beamed widely. "Thanks!"

"If you're ready then, lad, I think it's high time you got a good look at your ship." Jones gestured toward the doorway leading back off the stage. "Keyblade Masters first."

"Remember, Master Sora," Mayor Rhodes said seriously, "this is a military vessel, not some pleasure yacht for you, your girlfriend, apprentices, and fellow Keyblade Wielders to simply hang around in and fly at your leisure. He is to be treated with respect and dignity, as are all the servicemen and women and pilots coming aboard with you. You have some freedom to do things your way, but if we find out that you've turned the _High Noon _into some kind of pink-hulled party boat with chickens laying eggs in hen houses built in the corridors and a fiesta every other night..."

"That seems like a very specific example," Riku muttered.

"Point taken," Sora said, seeing the glare she snapped at Riku. "Can I at least install a fish tank?"

"What you put in your cabin is your own business," Rhodes answered, "so long as it's not illegal."

_Sweet. Fish tank is a go,_ Sora thought with a smile. _Can't help but wonder if there are illegal fish though. _

"Enough chat. We've a ship to see," Captain Jones reminded them. Sora and Riku both nodded and followed him down a set of stairs on the back of the stage.

Kairi, Naminé, and the parents were all waiting for them as they left the holding pen where they'd waited with the other dignitaries until the Mayor's signal. Sharon and David both eyed Riku in his armour with...humoured looks. His mother couldn't suppress a giggle for some reason.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"It's nothing," Sharon said, waving her hand. "You just look different from the you in the comic book, that's all."

"I need to find a copy and read this thing," Riku muttered.

"I've got the set if you want to borrow them," Naminé said eagerly. Riku nodded his head and pointed at her.

"Done."

Sora looked at both Kairi and Naminé as Captain Jones came out behind them. "Get your kit; that's our ship."

"_That_'s our ship?" Kairi repeated, stunned.

"I knew we were getting a ship," Naminé said softly, in awe as she looked in the direction of the _High Noon_, though her view of it was currently obstructed, "but I didn't think that we'd be getting a freaking battleship!"

"Actually, it's a frigate," Mayor Rhodes said as she exited the holding pen. She nodded at Melissa. "Good day, all, and good luck Master Sora, Master Riku." With that, she left.

Captain Jones tapped Sora on the shoulder, making a noise in his throat, and Sora took the hint. "You two hurry and grab your stuff. Riku and I are going to get the tour. Then we're going to have supper, and then we ship out tonight."

"After you grab your stuff from the _Dawn_," Riku reminded him. Sora coughed. "I'm not going to be playing courier service to you after we both end up on different ends of the Realm of Light, just because you forgot your toothbrush."

"Hey, it's a really good toothbrush! It uses a localized micro gravity spell to remove plaque and massage the gums, but yeah, after that."

Kairi gave him a wry smile. "You just can't wait to see this thing fly, can you?" Sora just laughed in answer. "Hmpf, boys. Alright, Master Sora. C'mon, sis."

"If we're done," Captain Jones said leadingly.

"Right, sorry," Sora apologized. "Let's go."

_-LD-_

Melissa smiled happily at her daughters, a glass of red wine in her hands, as the girls sat at the table in Destiny's, each of them beside their boyfriends with bright smiles on their faces. Naminé especially was happy to be reunited with her golden-haired beau, given that none of them had anticipated that amongst the _High Noon_'s crew all of the young Keyblade Wielders and their assorted followers-Hayner and Pence, she believed their names were if she remembered correctly from Kairi's birthday party-were also aboard and assisting in getting the ship ready for its maiden voyage. After finding out that all of their friends were aboard, Melissa figured that it would be best if they simply booked out the restaurant in order to spare the other diners the trouble of having a young crowd loudly yakking away in their vicinity, especially as a number of people in that young crowd had gained a certain level of notoriety.

Melissa glanced at the window and saw several onlookers peeking in, a few with cameras or the new 'smart phones' raised up to take pictures.

_A certain level of notoriety indeed, _she thought. One of her staff passed by with a spider sandwich and fries on a plate, and Melissa stepped back a bit to observe more. David and Sharon seemed to be enjoying themselves, listening to Riku's woes about his time in Radiant Garden these past few months, and Allison was doing the same with her sons, though Sora was mostly apologizing to her for not staying in contact as much as Roxas apparently had been.

"They all seem to be having fun, don't they?"

Melissa turned at the voice, and saw its owner revealed to be a middle-aged man dressed all in green and holding a glass of dark beer. Melissa instantly recognized it as a uniform of the Alliance, for it was somewhat similar in design to what Miss Tara Shimmer had been wearing at the ceremony. He wasn't wearing any headdress, revealing his short brown hair and bright green eyes. His tunic was an olive green, as were his pants. Four pockets were across his chest, two above and two below the fabric belt that cinched the clothing tight across the midriff; and numerous pockets were on his pants. All of the buttons were unadorned dark green plastic. He had the sleeves of his tunic rolled up, revealing muscled arms with a fair amount of hair on them. Underneath the tunic was a dark forest green undershirt, and on the shoulder epaulets were olive-green slip-ons with two light grey down-pointed chevrons embroidered upon them. On his feet were very black heavily laced combat boots that reached halfway up his shins.

"They certainly do," Melissa agreed. "I don't believe we've met, Mr..." she glanced at the name printed on his green name tag in white capital letters, "Fairchild. Hmm, that name sounds a little familiar, but I can't place it, and I can't help but wonder why you appear to be the only crewmember of the ship to be here tonight."

The man chuckled and extended his hand, which Melissa took. "Eric Fairchild," he said by way of greeting. "Olette there is my daughter." Melissa blinked and looked towards the brunette at the table, currently munching on the spider sandwich that had just been brought out for her with an expression of pure bliss on her face that only great food could provide.

"Melissa Brightheart," Melissa replied. "Kairi and Naminé are my daughters. You must be very proud of Olette, for her to be the first new Chaser in over a thousand years."

"Proud and terrified," he answered truthfully, moving to stand next to her. "It's so much for a girl her age, especially after losing her home and her mother."

Melissa's heart clenched tightly at his words. "I'm sorry for your loss." He nodded his head.

"Thank you," he answered stiffly. "It's been difficult coping these past five months since the Heartless took them from us, but at least we have the chance that she can come back to cling to, so long as we win."

"So you enlisted, then," Melissa said softly. "In the Alliance Gummi Force." Eric nodded.

"Yes. I'm a corporal now in the Gummi Force, working as an engineer aboard the _High Noon_. My little girl's becoming an adult before my eyes," he told her. "She and her friends are working so hard to bring peace to the worlds that I knew I needed to do my part; to do more than cheer from the sidelines. No matter what happens on her journey, it makes me feel a little better to know that I'm there for her, and I think she's secretly glad that I'll be aboard."

"I know how you feel," Melissa admitted. "Four months ago, Kairi lost her father to the darkness too." Melissa felt his hand lightly grip her shoulder.

"My condolences," he said. "But at least-"

"No," Melissa cut him off. "Jonathan didn't lose his heart; he lost his life protecting Kairi and our world. Nothing can bring him back."

"Then I truly am sorry," Eric said softly. "Forgive me if I came across wrong." Melissa shook her head.

"It's alright," she answered. "I know you didn't mean anything by it, and besides, Jonathan gave us a present before he left." She patted her belly and rubbed the baby bump warmly. Eric made a very slight chuckle.

"I seem to be tripping over my words," he said, "not knowing whether I should be consoling or congratulating you."

"Both is fine," Melissa answered, and they shared a laugh. "I wish I could go with Kairi and Naminé," Melissa admitted, watching over the pair. "The pain is still so fresh in our hearts; and Kairi can't seem to escape the nightmares and troubled sleep, but Destiny Islands and this baby need me here more than they; I'd be a burden."

"Don't think that of yourself," Eric began.

Melissa waved him off again. "It's fine. I have no training in the arts of war. Besides, my girls need a home to return to when the worlds have been saved. No one can do that job but me, so I'm going to make sure the light's on for when they come home."

"Then I'll make sure that that ship of theirs doesn't fail them," Eric Fairchild said strongly, "so that they _can_ come home and see that light."

"Thank you," Melissa said softly. She gave him a smile. "Olette's lucky to have you for a father."

"And your girls are lucky to have a good, strong, beautiful woman like you for a mother," he replied. Melissa laughed.

"Flatterer," she playfully accused him. "You wouldn't be trying anything, would you?" He laughed and held up his left hand, showcasing the golden band across his third finger.

"I'm a married man, Mrs. Brightheart," he chuckled. "I have faith that she'll come back to me." Melissa nodded.

"I do too," she replied, and nodded her head at the youth, and Richard (who, despite being uninvited, decided to come anyway), scattered throughout the dining room. "Because I have faith in them. They'll be off soon, off to save us all, and I know that they can do it."

"Yes, they will be off," Eric agreed, "but they won't be alone; and they shouldn't ever have to feel as though they are. We'll make sure of that." Melissa nodded, and then made a noise of interest as she took a sip of her wine.

"I wonder what Roxas is doing."

Roxas released his hold on Naminé and stood from his chair in Destiny's, glad that for once Sora and Melissa had had the foresight to just book out the entire dining room for the night so that they couldn't possibly disturb other patrons, and raised up his glass to the entire dining table. He was definitely excited for them to be off soon, so excited that he couldn't believe that he was about to do this. Many of them looked up at him, wondering just what Roxas was doing, and then he opened his mouth and spoke above the small bits of scattered talk.

"_Kind friends and companions, come join me in rhyme._

_Come lift up your voices in chorus with mine._

_Come lift up your voices, all grief to refrain;_

_For we may or might never all meet here again."_

By the second line, everyone in the restaurant had picked up that Roxas was singing a song, one that they were supposed to join in with. Fortunately, those of them who had grown up on Destiny Islands knew the song, and were able to assist him as he led his way into the chorus.

"_Here's a health to the company, and one to my lass!_

_Let us drink and be merry, all out of one glass!_

_Let us drink and be merry, all grief to refrain;_

_For we may or might never all meet here again."_

Roxas turned his head to look at Naminé, proudly raising his voice and his glass in her direction as his words rang out, causing her to blush both from flattery and embarrassment.

_"Here's a health to the dear lass that I love so well._

_For her style and her beauty, sure none can excel._

_There's a smile on her countenance as she sits on my knee._

_There's no man in this wide world as happy as me!"_

He came back to the chorus, and this time many of their voices joined in on the song.

"_Here's a health to the company, and one to my lass!_

_Let us drink and be merry, all out of one glass!_

_Let us drink and be merry, all grief to refrain;_

_For we may or might never all meet here again."_

Roxas held his glass high again and almost paused as Sora rose up from his chair with a swagger befitting a pirate captain, though Roxas was sure that Sora would think of himself as a privateer opposed to a pirate now that he had a frigate and a crew to call his own. Sora boomed out the last verse of the song and Roxas let him, his brother and Captain, take it from him with civility.

_"Our ship lies at anchor; she's ready to dock._

_I wish her safe landing without any shock._

_If ever I should meet you, by land or by sea;_

_I will always remember your kindness to me."_

Sora clinked glasses with Roxas and led them all in the final reprise.

_"Here's a health to the company, and one to my lass!_

_Let us drink and be merry, all out of one glass!_

_Let us drink and be merry, all grief to refrain;_

_For we may or might never all meet here again…"_

_"BANZAI!"_ Kairi shouted, raising her glass, letting it be known once more that it was her golden chalice from the treasure of El Dorado that she was drinking from, before tipping the contents of said chalice down the hatch.

"BANZAI!"

_-LD-_

Riku stopped in the middle of the road, having just seen his friends off at the docks. Shadows danced on the edge of his vision, cast into motion by the swinging lanterns lighting the way to the shore where the _Dawn's First Light II_ would have an easier time resizing from it's Mini-Gummi form without risking property damage. Nobody but him was in sight, but he could smell a familiar, bitter-sweet scent on the air.

"You can stop hiding," he said loudly, turning around to face the direction the scent was coming from. "I can smell the Darkness on you."

Standing just down the road from him was a person dressed in a worn cloak. Their face was concealed beneath a red and silver mask. Underneath the cloak Riku could catch a glimpse of metallic black, alerting him that this foe was armoured. Clutched in their hand was a Keyblade that matched the color of their mask, but gradually lightened in color along the blade until it was gold. Each side of the guard was accented by two spikes angled downward. The blade of the Keyblade was concaved along the razor sharp edges that ended in a point. On the tip of the shaft was a large, silver, '_X_' shaped emblem that connected the teeth of the Keyblade to the blade. The teeth were formed by a black, circular arc lined with spikes. The Keychain was designed to look like a black disk lined with spikes, identical to the teeth of the Keyblade.

"We don't have to fight, you know," Riku suggested. The other Keyblade Wielder fell into a fighting stance, their knees bent slightly as they gripped Twilight Blaze with both hands. "So much for resolving this peacefully," he groaned, summoning Way to the Dawn into his hands.

"Be careful, Riku," Dawn's voice whispered into his ear. "I'm detecting an elevated heartbeat rate in your opponent. She's either nervous or excited about this."

"She?" Riku asked quietly.

"Well, it's a safe bet. The underlying body type beneath the armour is female from what your armor's sensors can detect, but I'm drawing negative matches on the armour and Keyblade," Dawn replied. "She's unknown to us. Be careful."

"Got it."

The female Keyblade Wielder leveled her weapon at Riku, light gathering at it's tip. Sparks of electricity danced along the Way to the Dawn. A flickering red and gold light burst out of the Twilight Blaze's tip just as an orb of crackling lightning launched from the Way to the Dawn. The two magic attacks struck mid-flight and exploded in a brilliant shower of fireworks and lightning bolts.

Riku rushed forward, weaving his way in and out of the light display the two of them had set off. He struck at the other Keyblade Wielder's chest with Way to the Dawn, finding his stroke matched perfectly with a counter-slash of her Keyblade to halt his own's advance. She spun her Keyblade around, breaking Riku's guard and allowing her to slip right under his arm and deliver a blow with her free hand to his lower back.

An undignified yelp escaped him as he felt a sharp pain right where her hand had touched, the feel of darkness spiking into him. Not allowing her another opportunity to hit him in his blind spot, he rolled forward, putting distance between him and his opponent before righting himself. She was on him almost at once, the Twilight Blaze bearing down on him with heavy blows.

_Why,_ Riku thought amidst the discordant clashes of their weapons, just narrowly ducking underneath a slash she sent for his head but knowing that he'd gotten away from it perfectly with a couple tenths of a second to spare, _why is that song stuck in my head now?_ He casually took a step back from a telegraphed lunge for his midsection before parrying her Keyblade down and elbowing her in the chest. The metal of her armour stung as it connected with his bone, but the blow he delivered seemed to have more of an effect on her than him. She stumbled back a couple of steps, and Riku gave a short hum of the words stuck in his head before repeating them aloud.

"_Everything that kills me makes me feel alive._"

"Are you even taking this seriously!?" the female Wielder spat at him, her voice distorted by her mask.

"I can't help it if our blades crossed in the perfect melody for the chorus of that song," Riku replied. "Don't you like Counting Stars?"

"You are _such_ a loser," the other Wielder groaned. "I'm trying to kill you and you're singing? Who does that?"

Riku let out a laugh, rolling under another slash and striking his opponent in the leg. She gasped and took two quick steps back. "My best friend, and I guess me. _Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep; dreaming about the things that we could be…_"

She growled in frustration as Riku continued to mock her by singing at her while dodging every single one of her attacks, showing a clear difference in their abilities. "Hold still!" A bluish-white glow surrounded her Keyblade as a large block of ice erupted from the ground beneath Riku's feet, tossing him into the air.

"You can't hold still while dancing to the beat," Riku laughed tauntingly, landing in a roll before jumping to his feet. "Don't you know anything?" The other Wielder threw Twilight Blaze at Riku, fire coating the Keyblade as it spun through the air. Riku raised his eyebrows at the attack, slightly impressed. She could do a Fire Raid, interesting.

He raised his hand, creating a semi-transparent black bubble around him a split second before the attack struck. The Twilight Blaze bounced harmlessly off of his barrier before vanishing and reappearing in its Wielder's hand. For a split second, she vanished from sight before blurring back into view just within striking distance of Riku. Her Keyblade nicked the side of Riku's cheek, leaving behind a small scratch.

Riku deflected her Keyblade with his own and looked at her with a sideways glance. "Ow." Before she could react back, he swung his Keyblade up in an arc, striking her in her armoured chest and sending her up into the sky. Riku immediately jumped up after her, and slammed her again in the same spot, this time knocking her right back down onto the ground. The sand splashed up in a crater as she struck, a small shockwave rippling out through it.

Riku landed just on the edge of the crater and advanced on his opponent. "Ready to give up?"

"Not quite," the other Wielder said, already on her feet. Faint traces of fading green light covered her body. "Better watch your step though. The sand's pretty dangerous." Riku gave her a questioning look before looking down, just as he stepped on a circle of light. The light exploded violently and threw Riku into the water.

He scrambled to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of saltwater. Black and purple light surrounded the other Wielder and her blade as she charged toward him. She closed the rest of the distance in a second, striking him with her whole body and knocking him back under the waves. Riku quickly surfaced again, water boiling around his Keyblade as it burst into flames while he rapidly spun it in front of him. He managed to land a couple of hard hits on his opponent as he came above the waves, pushing her back a little and giving Riku a moment to breathe air instead of seawater.

Leaping into the air above her, the Way to the Dawn crackled as Riku cast a Thundaga spell. Bolts of lightning rained down into the water, electrocuting the other Wielder while she still reeled from his sudden surfacing strike. He landed next to her and struck with all his might, sending her crashing backward into the sand. Riku raised his hand, a black and blue fireball forming around his palm.

"This fight's over," he declared as she began to stand. He could almost see her eyes widening underneath her helmet as he launched the attack, five dark fireballs streaking from his extended hand towards her.

The female wielder cried out as Riku's Dark Firaga exploded against her chest, propelling her back toward the road and away from the beach. Riku tore the _Dawn's First Light II_ from where it was attached to the chain around his neck and flung it behind him into the surf. A brilliant flash of light illuminated the beach, not unlike a small sun. When it faded, the _Dawn_ was hovering just about a foot above the sand, access ramp already descended and ready for boarding.

Riku turned his back on the fight and leapt aboard the ramp, slamming his fist on the button that would close it the instant his feet reached the top of the ramp, shouting, "Dawnie, get us out of here!" An orange light shot from his armor bracelet to a screen set into the wall, allowing Dawn's avatar to form and integrate with the ship's systems again, complete with a distinctly annoyed expression.

"Call me 'Dawnie' again and I'll crash us into a moon," she huffed as the _Dawn_'s engines roared to life. Riku lost sight of her for a moment as he bolted to the bridge, but she kept popping up on screens as he went, maintaining her expression and increasing its poutiness factor the longer he kept silent.

"Okay, fine! I won't! Sheesh!" Her avatar threw its hands up in the air. "Humans! So, where are we headed?"

"Away from here, just don't pick the same vector that Sora did." He strode into the bridge and plopped down in his chair. "You know what? Put us on a course for that anomaly we were looking into a few months back. You know, before we had to play chauffeur to Sora and model for Olette."

"You make such a pretty model though," Dawn laughed. "Alright, course is set. Best get comfortable, we're about six days away from it." A groan escaped Riku.

"Fine. But let me know if we pass any worlds we haven't been to yet on the way. Gotta stretch my legs."

"Sure thing," Dawn answered. "Why don't you leave the flying to me and check yourself out. You just got into a scrap after all."

Riku took a breath and paused. "Yeah. Sounds like a good idea. Then maybe I'll hit the sack. I'm beat."

"Just look on the bright side, Riku," Dawn added as he rose from his chair. "At least you don't have to deal with over a hundred crewmembers like Sora does."

"You're right," Riku said, "I just have to deal with _you_."

Dawn folded her arms. "Uncalled for." Riku laughed.

_-LD-_

Back on the Islands, the masked Wielder dusted herself off as she watched the _Dawn's First Light II_ disappear into the night sky.

Piece by piece, her armor disappeared until the only pieces of it she was left with were her cloak to conceal her appearance and a single pauldron on her left shoulder.

She pulled a small, crystal-esque cube from her pocket and rubbed it gently with her thumb, hissing in pain while she did so. A holographic projection of the stars and labels for identified worlds appeared in the air before her. She turned her gaze on the blinking red arrow that was now traveling away from the circle labeled 'Destiny Islands'.

She smiled, glad to see that the tracking device she had placed on Riku at the beginning of their duel was functioning properly. She removed her mask, delighting in the cooler night air washing against her face after that harrowing defeat at his hands. However, her objective had been completed, even if he had electrocuted, burned, and generally roughed her up a bit.

She pulled a small, silver charm off of the bracelet she was wearing and tossed it into the air before her. One flash of blinding light later revealed a silver-coloured, dart-shaped, single person Gummi-ship hovering just over the beach.. Nowhere near the size or comfort level of Riku's ship, hers only had a cockpit and single room behind it that was barely big enough for her bunk, toilet, and kitchenette. Not that she needed anything fancy. The whole purpose of the craft was for quick pursuit of other ships.

"I will get you, Master Riku," Keila muttered while looking at the arrow on the projection. "My life depends on it."

_-LD-_

* * *

_So there you have it! The first chapter of __**Nightfall**__, the second installment in the Looming Darkness series._

_**Nightfall **__was originally supposed to be the second half of __**Daybreak**__. However, when writing the conclusion to the Sun's Shadow Festival arc in __**Daybreak**__, I realized that I had reached the perfect point to split the story, what with how the SSF arc played out, and with my choice of certain worlds that will be appearing in __**Nightfall**__._

_As I write this, I'm starting up my vacation for the next week, and I'm hoping to build up a small amount of 'cushion' for future chapters, especially since there are quite a few video games coming out this fall that are going to make me quite the busy man. It'd be nice to not have to worry about a lack of writing during such a time._

_I would like to express my utmost thanks to my good friend __**Shire Folk**__, as he designed the appearance of Sora's new ship. __And for kicking my ass into gear to finish this._

_Featured in this chapter is the traditional Irish song 'Here's a Health to the Company'. I'll be putting a link to my preferred version up on the Facebook page this evening._

_If you want to keep up to date on releases, or if you want teasers of what's to come, perhaps you're in the market for some behind the scenes information, fun videos or songs that I may choose to use in __**Looming Darkness**__? Then might I suggest following the link on my profile page to join the Looming Darkness Facebook group __**Where Darkness Gathers**__? __The group is a place to meet, greet, and be yourselves. So pull up a chair and pour yourselves a drink. Anything posted over there can become a story idea not only for Looming Darkness, but for anything any fanfic author in the community might want to write. So what are you waiting for?_

_That's all for today folks, I gotta go decide which of these world's on my list gets to be featured next chapter._

_**Aspicio, diluculo Infinitas Noctis.**_

_**Shadow Horizons**_


	2. The High Noon

_Four years ago today, I released the very first chapter of _Looming Darkness: Daybreak_, back when I was still calling it _Kingdom Hearts: Looming Darkness. _For the past three years, whenever the anniversary of the initial release rolls around, I've been busting my hump to try and get a chapter out in celebration. So far, I've been 0 for 3. _

_That changes today, however, and I couldn't be more excited!_

_**Disclaimer: Shadow Horizons does not own Kingdom Hearts, or the characters he borrowed from other sources. He does however own his own plot and original characters.**_

* * *

Chapter Two: The _High Noon_

"_Be careful going in search of adventure - it's ridiculously easy to find."_

_Saturday, November 13th, 4794 P.C._

_Bridge of the _DIF High Noon

"Wow!" Sora let out a whistle as the doors from the elevator to the bridge of the _High_ _Noon_ slid open.

The bridge of the _Kingdom _Sora had been used to over his past adventures paled in comparison to that of the _Noon_'s. It wasn't just the twelve people dressed in Alliance Navy uniforms darting about making last minute preparations. A variety of displays were spread across the bridge instead of the small collection of gauges he was used to.

"Commanding Officer on deck!" Sora winced as one of the bridge crew took notice of his arrival and 'announced' it to the others. Eleven of the crew members snapped to attention, briefly pausing in their individual tasks and saluting Sora as he stepped off of the elevator. One of them however, a woman in her early twenties who was standing by what appeared to be the helm didn't turn and salute. Instead, she seemed rather focused on the tablet she was holding in one hand.

Unlike the rest of the crew Sora had seen thus far, she had opted to not wear the top of her uniform. Instead, she was clad in a light blue tank-top decorated with the Alliance coat of arms in the center and the name 'DANIELS' inscribed across the upper back of the top. Her back was turned to Sora and the others, allowing them a clear view of the large tattoo of a pair of feathery wings just visible over the edge of her top. A few loose strands of red and yellow hair were poking out from under the cap she was wearing backwards with the Navy insignia on it.

"Seriously! We've done this drill half a dozen times today," she groaned in a slightly raspy voice. "We'll be prepared when ol' what's-his-face gets here. Can we please just make sure we're ready for launch before we do this again? Last minute checks people! Let's go! Is that too much to ask for?"

"Is it too much to ask you to at least comply to the dress code?" Arch Battlemage Shimmer asked as she stepped past Sora and advanced on the woman, who froze at the sound of her voice.

"Oh, hey egghead. What's up?" The woman let out a nervous chuckle as she turned to face Shimmer. "Wait a sec. You're not the CO. Captain Jones is."

Her less than amused expression never wavering, Shimmer pointed over her shoulder toward Sora. The other woman had to lean around Shimmer to get a better look. "Who's the kid?"

"Your CO," Shimmer deadpanned. A nervous expression immediately crossed the other woman's face an instant before she shoved Shimmer off to the side and snapped to attention.

"You're joshing me." Shimmer frowned at that. "My bad! Flight Lieutenant Rebecca Daniels at your service. I'll be your lead pilot. Not to mention I'm the best damn pilot in the Alliance."

"Nice to meet ya!" Sora stepped forward, offering her his hand. "So, you're the best, huh?"

"Wouldn't be here if I wasn't!" Daniels puffed out her chest. "I was probably the best back on my world, too."

Sora raised an eyebrow. " Only 'probably'?"

"Yup. Can't tell you for sure because I don't even know myself." She tapped the side of her head with the tablet in her hand. "Can't remember a thing about my world. I'm not even sure if Rebecca Daniels is my actual name. Doesn't make me any less awesome though!"

"Wait a sec. You don't remember anything about your world? At all?" Sora could barely believe what he was hearing.

"It's not like I'm the only one." Daniels' tone quickly became defensive. "Half the crew of this ship don't remember their homeworlds. Even Miss Bossy here has the same problem."

"Really? You too?" Sora asked of Shimmer.

"Yes. Unfortunately, memory loss seems to be an increasingly common problem with those who end up on Radiant Garden when their worlds are lost to Darkness."

"I understand how you must feel," Kairi said, struggling to keep her hold on Ozzy as he tried to gain freedom from her arms. "I don't even remember my homeworld. My earliest memory is when I suddenly appeared on the Destiny Islands when I was four years old."

"Welcome aboard the SS Amnesia, home to the people with the weirdest hairstyles and hair colors in all the worlds," Daniels said with a grin, pointing at the strands of red and yellow sticking out from under her hat.

Sora turned to Naminé, who was watching the conversation with an amused expression. "You can fix their memories, right Naminé? Just like you did with mine?"

She took a moment of consideration. "I suppose I could if they'd be willing to be put into a suspended sleep like you, Donald and Goofy were."

"Count me out then," Daniels turned away and started walking back toward the helm. "I like napping as much as the next guy, but then I'd be missing out on all of the action we're bound to see."

"Not if we're lucky," Shimmer huffed. "I'd rather not have to worry about the ship getting damaged in a firefight with Heartless ships so soon."

"You do realize that there are seven Keyblade Wielders currently on board, yes?" A yellow-colored hologram of a man dressed in plate armor was projected in the air next to Shimmer as it addressed her. "Three of whom happen to be classified as high-value assets. Avoiding Heartless ships will undoubtedly be more difficult for us than it will be for other Gummi ships."

Shimmer glared at the projection. "Yes, Noon. I'm aware of it." The projection vanished and reappeared in front of Sora.

"Greetings, Master Arashi," the hologram said as he bowed to him. "I am Noon. The _High Noon_'s Artificial Intelligence."

"Hey there!" Sora smiled. "So, you're kinda like Dawn, right? Riku's AI thing?"

"I'm going to assume that this 'Dawn' serves as Master Cremon's personal AI," Noon huffed. "Let's get this out of the way then. I'm not a personal AI unit. My functions are entirely limited to the _High Noon_ and I cannot be transferred to a set of armor, regardless of what your Chaser friend believes to be possible."

"Heh," Sora muttered with a smirk, "we'll see."

The AI vanished, grumbling as he did so. "Humans."

"Well, it's been nice chatting with you, but I've got work to do if we're going to get this bucket of bolts starside." Daniels turned away from their group and immediately began barking orders at the rest of the bridge crew.

Shimmer gestured for Sora and the others to follow her and led them to a circular table just in front of the helm. "You should take this opportunity to choose a destination while they finish up the pre-takeoff checks." With a wave of her hand, the table lit up and projected a holographic map of the worlds in front of them. Stars twinkled and flickered for a moment before zooming in on one in particular. The star in question was quickly labelled as 'Destiny Islands', as well as the nearest stars of 'Radiant Garden' and 'Disney Castle'. Shimmer quickly demonstrated how to use the map to Sora before giving him free reign to do as he wished.

For several minutes, Sora zoomed the map in and out, trying to decide on a location. The decision wasn't made easy, what with Kairi and Roxas both standing over his shoulder and constantly giving him their input. Just as the two were about to come to blows over their suggestions, Sora made his choice.

"Here!" He said, pointing to a lonely world. His curiosity had been piqued, because according to the map, there were no other worlds near this particular star. Yet it wasn't just the lack of worlds that caught his eye. It was the simple fact that this particular world sat in the dead center of a near perfect sphere of empty space. Though he couldn't place his finger on it, he felt oddly drawn to that world.

"We have our heading then," Captain Jones announced to the bridge, startling the four Wielders who hadn't been aware that he was standing behind them. "Ms. Daniels, are we ready to make way?"

"No thanks to these idiots," the Flight Lieutenant said, walking back toward them. She held her tablet up to the projected map for a few seconds. The coordinates to the world Sora had selected quickly appeared on them. She turned her head. "We're all set, Jackhammer! Fire 'im up!"

Sora looked in the direction Daniels had absently waved, and saw a man who looked to be in his early mid-twenties by the helm garbed in the green of the Gummi Corps. He stood around Sora's height, maybe a few inches taller than the Keyblade Master was currently but Sora would probably outgrow him. His brown hair was cut short beneath the green ball cap on his head, and his blue eyes were outlined by a pair of rectangular black glasses. Circling his mouth was a short and well-kept goatee with a slight reddish hue to its brown base. Despite the fact that Daniels had called him 'Jackhammer', the name velcroed onto the front of his uniform read 'COGAN'.

"You got it, Rainbow," the man answered, immediately beginning to press buttons on a touch screen while settling himself into his co-pilot's chair. Daniels scowled slightly.

"That's _ma'am_, Flying Officer Cogan," she reminded him. "Don't call me that in front of the CO the first time he's here and standing right behind me."

"Sorry ma'am."

"Why'd he call you Rainbow?" Kairi asked, finally relenting and letting Ozzy out of her arms. The wolf cub landed on his front paws with pizzazz and immediately set about exploring the bridge to the varied reactions of the bridge crew. Daniels and Shimmer both seemed a little more nervous of the little cub than others did.

"Because of my hair, duh," Daniels replied, grasping at a few strands of what was peeking out from underneath her cap, once more showcasing the red, orange, and yellow colours woven into it in line. "I'm a natural rainbow. And no, I'm not giving you more proof than this."

"I've seen proof!" 'Jackhammer' called from his chair. Daniels whirled around, her face beet red.

"Shut up!"

Tara Shimmer narrowed her eyes. "Flight Lieutenant Daniels, is there something going on between you and Flying Officer Cogan?"

"Uh, nope!" Daniels returned immediately, though she did not meet Shimmer's eye. "No. Nothing at all, ma'am. He was just referring to, uh, something that happened a while back, yeah." Shimmer eyed her with scrutiny, and Sora could see that Daniels was starting to sweat.

"Good," Shimmer replied slowly. "Because you know that intimate relations between a superior and junior are strictly prohibited." Sora and Kairi shifted awkwardly, each pretending to find interest in the some part of the metal plating on the ceiling. Roxas laughed.

"I guess nobody gave you two that memo, huh?" Naminé said in amusement, lightly elbowing Kairi in the ribs.

"I am well aware of that, ma'am," Daniels replied, voice going a little higher while still refusing to make eye contact. It looked as though Shimmer was about to say more when Captain Jones placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Give it a rest, Miss Rulebook," he said. "She said that there's nothing going on, so there's nothing you need to try poking your nose into. Leave that to the chaplains." He winked at Daniels when Shimmer wasn't looking, and Sora couldn't miss the flustered blush that painted her cheeks for a couple of moments before she could look away.

"Cogan!" she barked, louder than what was absolutely necessary. "Preflight routines! How are they coming?"

"Preflight warm-up is almost done, ma'am," he replied. "Just need another minute or so on the engines. Control systems and navigation are all green and course is set for the nearest optimal point for safe usage of the warp gummi. We'll be ready to take off in fifty seconds." Daniels nodded her head and turned to Sora.

"Well, Captain," she said with a funny sort of smile, "we're standing by on your order."

"Take us away," Sora said, grinning widely. The bridge crew sprang into action, calling out to one another as they coordinated their tasks to launch the _High Noon_. The entire ship shook as the engines rumbled to life.

"Thrusters are at full!"

"All airlocks are locked and sealed."

"We're airborne! Launch speeds are optimal. Gaining altitude of nine thousand, five hundred metres per second!"

Sora's grin grew even wider as the Destiny Islands shrank rapidly below them, and the flawless blue of the sky gave way to the dark, star spangled Sea of the Worlds.

The _High Noon_ had begun its maiden voyage.

_-LD-_

_Deck Three_

_Key Deck_

"Deck Three," Noon announced as the elevator slowed to a stop. "Also known as Key Deck."

"Key Deck?" Kairi asked. "That's a weird name."

"Key Deck is reserved exclusively for use by Keyblade Wielders and their companions," the AI clarified. "There are twenty VIP cabins, each with their own bathroom. Key Deck also features a lounge, a small kitchenette, a conference room, a private armory and access to the artificial simulation chamber."

"I thought you said this was supposed to be a military ship," Roxas said, glancing over at Shimmer.

"And it still is," she replied. "However, as none of you are officially part of the military, certain liberties were taken on your behalf."

The door slid open, revealing a rather comfy looking lounge. Several plush couches and chairs were grouped around a large television. Hayner and Nanaki had their eyes glued to the screen, game controllers in their hands.

"How are you beating me?!" Hayner shouted, rising slightly out of his seat as Nanaki's avatar on the screen kicked Hayner's out of sight. "You just learned how to play an hour ago!" He fell back into his chair with a groan of frustration.

"You two look look like you're having fun," Naminé said, moving to sit beside Nanaki.

"I'm having a blast!" Nanaki managed to say through her laughing. "Hayner just keeps on losing. You'd think with how he talked he was good, but he sucks at this game...or I'm just boss!"

"It's beginners luck! You literally just picked up the controller an hour ago and learned how to play," Hayner grumbled. "Let's go again! Best seven out of thirteen!"

"Fine," Nanaki said smugly with a shrug of her shoulders, "but you might want to pick another character, because Xianghua and I rule. Nightmare's got nothing on her."

"I refuse to believe that," Hayner snapped. "Let's go!"

Naminé rolled her eyes and turned to Kairi. "Come on. Let's go pick out our rooms."

Kairi nodded in agreement. "Which way to our rooms?" Three doors led out of the lounge, one directly opposite of the elevator, and two on either side of it.

"This way," Tara Shimmer said, gesturing with her arm towards the door on the left. "On the left are the cabins and kitchenette. To the right lies the conference room, armoury, and access to the simulation chamber." Just as she said that, the left door opened.

Toweling off her hair, in walked Nikki in a grey tank top and pair of red cotton short shorts. She paused for a moment, surprised to see them all standing there, and then smiled warmly. "Oh, hello."

"Hey Nikki," Sora said, waving. "How are things?"

"Good," she replied. "Showers have hot water for the moment but I've got no clue how big the hot water tank is on this boat."

"Ship," Shimmer corrected. "And there is enough hot water on the _Noon_ for half of her crew to take a thirty minute shower at the same time. Granted, we don't have enough showerheads for that to happen, but it's possible."

"And there you go," Nikki said with a grateful smile. "If you need me, I'm off to find something to eat."

"Wait a second," Kairi called out as Nikki moved to leave. "Wasn't your hair brown during dinner?" Nikki glanced up at her strawberry-blonde bangs.

"I finished dyeing it, like, five minutes ago," Nikki said. "Why?"

"Just making sure I wasn't going crazy and seeing things. Oh, wait. Yeah, there's that hair dye smell. Nevermind."

"Well?" Nikki asked.

"Well what?" Kairi replied.

"You pointed out that my hair colour had changed," Nikki stated, slightly exasperated. "What do you think?"

"I think we're starting to get too many blondes on this ship," Naminé said with a humoured tone. She tugged at a lock and held it in front of her eyes. "Maybe I'll dye my hair. Maybe I'll make it pink with pale blue frosting at the tips."

"Oh! I could help you!" Nikki said, suddenly bursting with excitement. "I have so many dyes you can choose from!" She seemed to disappear only to immediately pop up right next to Naminé, arm locked with hers.

"Weren't you going to get food?" Naminé asked, startled by the speed in which Nikki had executed the manoeuvre.

"Food can wait. Kindling a new friendship with the magic of hairstyling? That's much more important!"

"But doesn't it take, like, twenty minutes for the dye to set in the first place?" Naminé asked as she was almost dragged away (her feet went willingly). "And besides, this is going to be a complex job, not a simple single colour."

The others lost Naminé's voice at the sound of a door closing, but unfortunately for her, none of them immediately knew which door she had been dragged none of them had followed quickly enough to see her frog-marched into Nikki's room. Curse line-of-sight issues.

"What just happened?" Roxas muttered, voicing the question burning at the back of everyone's mind. Even Nanaki and Hayner had paused their game to look on in confusion.

"I don't know," Hayner said, "but I think the next time you see Naminé, you should probably tell her that her hair looks nice no matter what it looks like."

"Wise move," Nanaki agreed. She then pressed a button on her controller, and Hayner's character screamed after a battle cry from her own. He whipped his head back to the screen and growled in anger as the announcer shouted, "K.O.!", the replay played, and then shouted, "Xianghua wins!"

"You cheated!"

"I can tell this argument is going to keep going for a while," Kairi said, watching as Nanaki and Hayner traded insults and accusations back and forth. "Which way to our rooms?"

"Doors on the left," Shimmer muttered. "Pick whichever room you want and say your name when you enter so the systems can record which room is whose. If you need me, I'll be in my office down on Deck Two. Actually, wait for a moment." She turned to Sora. "Sir, you have your own private Captain's Cabin, separate from the others here. If you'll follow me."

"Ozzy, no. Ozzy! Gyah…" Kairi sighed as the wolf cub made another bid for freedom from his master and scrambled out of her arms. He'd gotten tired of looking out from within her hold and wanted to explore this new floor with his own four paws. Nanaki and Hayner looked up quickly at the unfamiliar jingle of his tag moving, and really took notice of the wolf cub for the first time as he started sniffing the corner of the chesterfield by Nanaki's right leg. "I give up," Kairi sighed, giving her head a small shake even as a thin smile creeped onto her face. Tara Shimmer carefully avoided the wolf's path as she led Sora through the lounge towards the door opposite the elevator.

Sora felt his jaw go slack as the door slid open with a faint hiss. His cabin was larger than he had been expecting, large enough that it had a large wall splitting the room in two. A rather large, fully made up bed that looked much more comfortable than any he'd ever slept in before was right in front of him. Set into the wall behind the headboard were a series of shelves, already with books he recognized as being from his own personal collection at home resting on them. He could even see the cracked spines of three of his favourite paperbacks, recognizing the wear _he_ had put into them! One of the two nightstands beside the bed had a pair of photographs on them. One of Sora, Kairi and Riku, smiling in front of their completed raft just before the Heartless first appeared on the Islands, and another from the night the three of them returned to the Islands, posing in the booth at Destiny's.

"How...?" Sora asked, staring at his personal effects already in place. He noticed that none of his luggage was actually in the room yet, though.

"We had people visit your home after the unveiling ceremony," Shimmer replied. "Your mother was very cooperative."

Sora grunted and proceeded to take in the rest of his cabin. On the other side of the dividing wall (which Sora noticed was actually an entertainment center with curtains that could be drawn closed to fully separate it from the bedroom portion) was a pair of rather cozy looking chairs set up in one corner. Against the side wall was a mahogany desk with fresh varnish and a nice Gummi Force green egg style desk chair rolled up against it. There was a fair bit of open space on both sides of the cabin, and a door leading out of the second part to what Sora assumed was his private bathroom. He looked at the light switch, and found out with delight that it had a dimmer setting!

_Did they, like, set me up with a bachelor pad in here or something? _Sora thought in amusement. _Now all I need is that fishtank._ He looked back at Arch Battlemage Shimmer. "This is my room?"

"Yes, sir. This is your cabin," she replied brightly. "I trust it meets your approval?"

"It does," Sora answered in something close to awe. If only his room at home could be like this. This bedroom is nearly as big as the den in his house. "It is incredible."

Shimmer smiled. "Good to hear. I'll leave you alone to get settled in and I'll send someone up with your bags." She snapped a quick salute, which Sora remembered to return this time, and strode out of the room.

"Fancy pad you've got," Roxas noted, following Kairi into the room. "Why do I get the feeling the other rooms aren't going to be as nice?"

"Probably because Sora gets to be the captain," Kairi said. She dropped onto his bed and bounced a little bit. "Nice bed. I hope the ones we get are as nice, or else I might just choose to sleep in here."

"I bet Sora would like that," Roxas said with a smirk. Sora chuckled.

"Well, I can't think of anything better to wake up to than my pretty girlfriend's lips," he said. Kairi blushed and looked away.

"S-Sora! When did you get so bold?" Sora sat down on the bed next to her and sighed while slowly wrapping his left arm around her side.

"I missed you," he said softly, gently stroking a finger up and down the side of her stomach. Kairi turned to face him, eyes locking with his. She bent her head down a little, but kept eye contact.

"I missed you too," she whispered. Roxas looked away while rolling his eyes as the two leaned in, but they were suddenly stopped by a growl and a few sharp yips. The pair broke apart to see Ozzy standing in the doorway beside Roxas' feet, looking at Sora with as much ferocity as the little wolf cub could.

Sora held up his hands and leaned back. "Okay, I get it. Hands off of Kairi when you're around. Sheesh." Kairi giggled, slowly breaking into more hysterical laughter.

"Look at you, Sora," she said. "My Master, a great Keyblade Warrior and Saviour of the Realm of Light, scared away from kissing me because my wolf cub, my wolf _cub_, says 'no'."

"Hey, I don't want him to bite me," Sora said defensively. The sound of paws padding against the floor drew his attention back to Ozzy as he leapt up into Kairi's lap and sat there. The wolf cub glared up at Sora; a look that very firmly said 'mine'. Sora growled in his throat and glared back at the young timber wolf. Ozzy snarled and curled his upper lip, bearing his incisors. Sora did the same.

Roxas had apparently managed to get himself one of those new fangled phones like Kairi's and was getting the scene on video while Kairi had a hand pressed to her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter. Both couldn't believe that they were witnessing a battle of wills between a tiny wolf child and a teenage hero over the one they both cherished: the person who was most special to Sora, whom he loved more than anything; and the surrogate mother figure to the cub who he would defend with everything he had.

Pence popped his head in the doorway. "Hey, guys! What's going...?" He trailed off at the conflicting airs in the room: Roxas and Kairi's thoroughly amused one, and the tense, electrified atmosphere in the foot of space between Sora and the wolf cub. "Never mind. I don't think I wanna know."

He ducked back out, just as Ozzy leapt at Sora's face.

_-LD-_

_Deck Two_

_Medical Bay_

"You know, you could've cast a Cure spell on yourself," Nikki grumbled as she scribbled on one of the two clipboards she was holding.

Sora grinned sheepishly up at her from his place on one of the dozen medical beds. Scratches covered his face. "Well, you did say that you wanted to give people checkups," he said.

Nikki huffed in irritation. "A normal checkup. Not an 'I got my girlfriend's pet wolf mad at me' checkup." She tossed the clipboards onto the bed beside Sora. "That's everything I need from you. You can go."

"But, what about the scratches?" Sora asked.

"I swabbed the cuts and the shot I gave you will help to fight off any infection," she reminded him. "Which you wouldn't have needed if you had just used Cure on yourself before coming down here. Honestly, what am I going to do with you? This had better not become a standard issue."

"How'd the dye job go?" Sora asked, trying to switch topics.

"The first part should be done setting in about six minutes," Nikki said. "Then we'll need to wash the dye out and we can start on the second part."

"Sounds fun," Sora said, hopping down from the bed.

"Oh, it was," Nikki sighed contentedly. "You know, you'd look pretty good with a splash of color in your hair. Some blue, maybe a splash of red. Actually, you'd look pretty good with black and teal hair, you know."

"I'll pass," Sora said, waving his hands dismissively. "Thanks for the checkup."

"Yeah, yeah." Nikki gestured for him to leave. "Giving me more paperwork...Don't go around provoking wolves again, alright?"

"It's not my fault he doesn't like me," Sora grumbled, the green light of his Cure spell filling the room as he spoke. Nikki rolled her eyes and turned her back on him, muttering, "So _now_ he uses the spell" under her breath so Sora couldn't hear her as he left the room.

_What should I do now? _he idly wondered, slowly walking away from the med bay along the shiny metal corridors. Through open doors, he caught glimpses of the mess hall and the crew bunks, as well as Archmage Shimmer pouring over a pile of paperwork in her office.

As he reached the elevator, it occurred to him that the only one of his friends he'd yet to see on board was Olette. "Hey, Noon." A bright flash of yellow off to Sora's light brought the ship's AI into sight.

"Yes, Master Sora? How can I help you?"

"Where can I find Olette? She wasn't up on Key Deck earlier," Sora asked.

"Miss Fairchild is in her workshop down on Deck One," the AI confirmed after a brief pause. "She doesn't appear to be in the middle of any Chasing. I suspect that she wouldn't mind some company."

Sora gave the AI his thanks as he stepped into the elevator and selected his destination.

_-LD-_

_Deck One_

_Unused Storage Room_

"So, hiding out down here?"

Olette gave a small start as the door behind her slid open. She turned to find Sora standing just outside of it, clearly waiting to be invited in.

"It's not hiding," she pointed out. "This is my workspace."

"You took over an entire room down by the engine room just for workspace?" Sora looked skeptical. "You know we have an entire armory up on Key Deck, right?"

"Oh, I know," she said with a smile. "But down here I'm less likely to be disturbed while I'm working on becoming a better Chaser." She gestured around the room.

Her workspace was very spartan, compared to the rest of the ship. A small speaker with her mp3 player hooked up to it sat on a steel workbench, with pictures of her parents, her friends and Twilight Town residing beside it. Scraps of useless Lightsteel littered the rest of the work bench. Thirty or so Keychains hung from a series of hooks just above the bench. Three armor stands stood against the far wall, covered with various pieces of what Sora assumed was incomplete Keyblade Armor.

"You've been busy," Sora said, staring at the Keychains on the wall. "Hey, is my armour ready yet?"

"Just following my Master's orders, and no, not yet. I'll get you when it is." Olette got to her feet, arching her back with an exaggerated stretch. Sora's attention was drawn to the trio of 'x' shaped, silver-toned scars lining the left side of her face.

"I see you're getting plenty of Chasing scars," he said quietly.

"They're kind of hard to miss." Olette let out a laugh. "That's a better reaction than Hayner had. He thought I was depressed and self-harming. He tried pretty hard to drag me off to a psychologist." Her voice quieted. "He didn't like it very much when he found out that I get them from Chasing Keyblades. He kept trying to talk me out of being a Chaser. I told him that if he kept it up, I'd freeze him to a bench and leave him in the sun all day."

"Ooh," Sora said, wincing. "That's a little harsh."

"It got the point across, though," Olette said. "Being a Chaser is part of who I am now, and not even Hayner's going to take that away from me." She looked at the scar on her wrist that had formed when she'd made Ocean's Toll for Kairi and took a breath. Sora could see her chest swelling with more than just air. "I can't remember why I first thought I should be ashamed or scared of these," Olette added, almost to herself. "Each one represents a Keyblade that I've chased. Me. _I_ can make Keyblades. Each one of these is a Keyblade that _I_ have made! Why was I ever ashamed of these?"

"Probably because you were still trying to look nice for your 'not' boyfriend," Sora teased. Olette's cheeks became tinged with pink and she didn't meet his eyes.

"Well, yeah…" she said slowly, but Sora noticed that she didn't deny anything. "Doesn't mean I don't like them. It's his problem if he doesn't. So, what'd you come down here for?"

"I was just exploring," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Got anything cool you're working on right now?"

"Actually, yeah," Olette said as the song playing from her speakers changed. "C'mere." She gestured with her hand for Sora to actually enter the room instead of leaning on the doorframe and pushed back with her feet. The swivel chair she sat on rolled backwards towards a very small bookshelf that was crammed into the corner beside the armour racks. She extracted a tome and then rolled back to her workbench, opening the book when she got there.

"I've been reading up on what the Chasers knew about the worlds," she said, "well, the information that they had stored at the Forge, at least, and I came across some information that I think you might find interesting." She gestured for him to have a look at the page she had opened up to.

"Oh yeah?" Sora asked, interest piqued. He peered down at the words on the page, scanning for some kind of chapter title or header before Olette interrupted him and pointed right at what she was talking about. A rudimentary diagram that was similar to the map of the worlds Sora had interacted with on the bridge took up the whole of the left hand page. The diagram was focused on one particular world, with a great circular void around it before any other worlds were sketched in.

"This looks kinda like the world we're heading to right now," Sora said slowly, brow furrowing slightly.

"Mmhmm," Olette hummed. "A metaworld, to be exact. This entire book is dedicated to the research and compilation of all known information about metaworlds."

"Metaworlds?" Sora asked, looking at her. She looked up and nodded. "So what are they?" He asked, looking around for something to sit on. He saw nothing, so with Olette's consent he wiped clean a spot on the corner of her workbench and sat himself down right there.

"Well, to put it simply, a metaworld is a world that, by means no one is entirely sure of, has its own system of worlds inside of it," she explained.

"Worlds within worlds?" Sora clarified, excitement getting to him. Olette nodded and continued.

"The exact method of their formation is largely speculated over most of the book. But if you look at the diagram, you can see all that empty space. The most commonly accepted theory is that somehow, the world at the center of that void managed to draw in and absorb the matter other worlds that previously filled the emptiness had and used it to make them fit its own cosmology."

Sora blinked at that last word. "I'm sorry; I lost you there. Cosmology?"

"Think of it like the Realms of Light and Darkness," she went on. "Each of our worlds, or the ones we've been to anyway, are in the Realm of Light. When we look out at the night sky, we're seeing the light of all of the other worlds in our cosmos, the Realm of Light. A metaworld, in essence, is it's own Realm, with the only access point in or out of it being a portal in the Lanes Between or out here in the Sea of the Worlds that _appears_ like a world."

"So...we actually set course not for a world, but for a portal to a different Realm?" Sora asked.

"Okay, so maybe calling it a Realm isn't exactly accurate. But it's close enough," Olette said with a sigh. "These metaworlds are, in their own right, still worlds. They have their own hearts somewhere inside of them and they can probably have Heartless and Nobodies come into and out of them just like the rest of our worlds. It's just that they are much, much larger and have their own system of worlds tethered to them. Crap, I'm losing you again, aren't I? Here, let me draw you something."

"This stuff is complicated," Sora muttered while Olette rummaged for a piece of charcoal. Why she had charcoal was beyond Sora, but he guessed it was for the chasing process somehow.

"Well why do you think the Keyblade Wielders of old never understood it?" she asked rhetorically with a bit of a shrug. She drew a dot on a free spot on her workbench and then drew a number of other dots away from it at a considerable distance. "Okay, so this central dot here is a portal to a metaworld." She then circled the dot and drew two lines away from it before drawing a large circle with verticies on both of the lines. Inside of the circle she then drew a number of other dots. "This circle here is like a magnifying glass. Once crossing through the portal to the metaworld, each of these dots here are worlds inside of it. You can't get to any of these separate worlds without first going through the portal, and anyone from these worlds can't get to any of ours without going through the other way."

"Got it." Sora had his arms crossed and was nodding along. "So, aside from having lots of worlds inside of it, what makes a metaworld so special?"

"Simple." Olette drew a few circles around the dots representing the worlds outside of the metaworld. "You know how out here, in the Realm of Light, all the worlds are supposed to be separate from one another and completely unaware that there are other worlds out there?" Sora nodded. "And you're aware of just how drastically different all of these worlds can be from each other, and how there are things you can do on one world that you can't on another?"

"I can do anything I want wherever I want," Sora said with a guilty shrug. "What are you talking about?"

Olette fixed him with a deadpan stare. "Really. You can be a merman whenever you choose to? How about being a lion cub?"

"Technically I was half a dolphin, but I see your point," Sora sighed.

"It's too bad you can't, though," Olette said with a giggle. "You made a really cute lion cub." Sora growled.

"That Jiminy, showing everybody those pictures."

"Actually it was Kairi," Olette said with a smug look. "Anyway, the Rules of Division of Worlds don't apply to the metaworlds," Olette continued. "Once you pass through that portal, you're in one world. Sure, it's got lots of other worlds in it, but they all adhere to one, universal world rule. And there are no barriers between those lesser worlds within them. That's why metaworlds aren't classified as Realms. Understand now?"

"What's the rule?"

"That there are no Rules of Division of Worlds. However, this makes metaworlds extremely dangerous to traverse for us. Without the Rules of Division of Worlds, with the right means any sentient race that lives in these metaworlds can travel between them, possibly even going to war with the inhabitants of other worlds within their metaworld. The last thing that we, as inter-world travellers, want is to accidentally get dragged into a war between worlds we have nothing to do with, or to get caught in the crossfire."

"Well, then it's a good thing we've got the _High Noon_," Sora said.

"He's still a frigate, though," Olette reminded him. "The inhabitants of these metaworlds could be duking it out with ships many times his size."

"Can't you give me just this?" Sora pleaded. "I've never been on a ship this big or powerful before. Don't cut me down just now."

"I'm just giving you information," Olette said, holding up her hands. "I'm not trying to bruise your ego or tell you what to do, but I figured you should at least know what kind of risks a metaworld can pose before we blindly go into a potential storm."

"Is there anything else that the book says about them?" Sora asked.

"Not that I can think of right now," Olette said. "I'll admit that I haven't read the whole book yet, but I remember it said something about how one particular metaworld that they'd studied had a planet on it where some of the inhabitants made an absolutely astounding type of beef stew that they couldn't get enough of."

"That's not exactly helpful, you know."

"You asked. I answered. Besides, after reading it I kinda want to go there to try it..."

Sora put a hand to his chin. "Actually...food is a good reason to go exploring." Olette laughed.

"So are we now a culinary expedition?"

"Think of it as a side quest," Sora answered, grinning. "You said it yourself, Chasers barely knew anything about these metaworlds, right?"

"Keyblade Wielders as a whole didn't, but yes. Why?"

"Well, think about it! We could be the first generation of Keyblade Wielders to actually understand more about these metaworlds. Isn't that exciting?"

Before Olette could answer, Sora's stomach loudly rumbled. Olette couldn't help but laugh.

"I knew that you were just thinking with your stomach," she said. "But now that you mention it, yeah! It is exciting!"

"Exactly!" A laugh escaped him. The two sat in silence for a few moments, Olette lazily leafing through the tome she had pulled off the shelf. "You said this book contained all of the knowledge on metaworlds that was stored at the Forge?"

"Yes," Olette answered, eyes casually scanning the pages.

"So they just let you pack it up and take it with you? The only copy?"

"Master Xanthos said that, as a Chaser, I had free reign to use anything at the Forge," she said defensively. "And, since he's the only other Chaser around, I don't think I have to worry about him complaining about it. Especially since he's off doing who knows what at who knows where." Sora raised an eyebrow at her. "Shut up. Stop judging me or I'll make your armor last."

"Okay, fine! I won't say anything else about it." He threw up his hands in defeat, and she smirked at him before returning to perusing the book. "So, I'm curious as to why you decided to put your workspace all the way down here," he started again. "I don't think many of us are using the armory up on Key Deck."

"Hayner and Pence are," she pointed out. "But the armory doesn't have what I chose this room for."

"Oh?"

"Come here. I'll show you." Olette didn't give him time to object as she stood up and grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him toward the wall opposite of her workbench. She pressed a button on the wall and a portion of the steel slid upward, revealing a glass window that looked out over the engine room. "This is why I chose this room. It's the closest workspace I could get to here."

"Why do you want to work next to the engine room?" Sora asked, staring down at the drive core, watching the pulsations of energy. A pair of engineers, one of whom Sora could recognize as Olette's father, were moving about below. Occasionally they would make a note on the tablets they carried before moving on to some other part of the room. Once, Olette's father looked up, noticed that the window had become visible, and gave them a short wave. Olette waved back, Sora taking note of the small smile on her face.

"Because it's the closest I could get the Heart of the _Noon_," Olette explained. "Chasing a Keyblade can only be done by using a Heart to give it shape. Not literally of course, that'd be messy and dark and shit. But remember how I forged Ocean's Toll for Kairi on her birthday?"

"Among other things that happened then, yeah," Sora muttered.

"Well, I used both of our hearts, and Hayner's and Pence's, to give it form," she continued. "Most Keyblades are typically Chased when a Chaser finds their way to the Heart of a World. The closer you are to a powerful Heart, the more it reflects in the power of the Keyblade."

Sora looked back down at the drive core as it pulsed rhythmically, and he saw what Olette could see.

The beating Heart of his ship.

He was snapped out of his revelation by a chiming sound that came across the _Noon_'s loudspeakers.

"Attention crewmembers. The time is now twenty-three hundred hours. All personnel not on scheduled duty are to return to their quarters. Have a good night's rest everyone."

"We have a curfew?" Sora asked aloud, raising his eyebrows at Olette. She shrugged.

"This is the first time I've heard of it," she replied. Noon's holographic projection appeared a few feet away from them.

"Technically it is referred to as 'quiet time' by the ship's counsellor, Dr. Terasu," the AI told the pair. "Past twenty-three hundred hours all personnel are technically required to be returned to living quarters or other non-duty locations such as the mess, crew lounges, or personal offices. As Captain, you are exempt from this rule, Sora, and may wander about the ship at your discretion unless Dr. Terasu or Dr. Case have directed otherwise."

"Does this workstation count?" Olette asked.

"As you are a Chaser and Keyblade Wielder, and not a scheduled crewmember of the _High Noon_, you are permitted to remain here as long as you wish," Noon replied. "The 'quiet time' regulation truly only applies to registered officers and crew of the _High Noon_ and other Alliance military members. However, it would not be beneficial if the key members of Project Hope were to deliberately keep themselves from running at optimal efficiency."

"Say what?" Sora asked.

Noon looked at him. "Go to bed, or I'll have a word with Dr. Terasu, which means she'll pull you aside for a counselling session if it happens too often. I'm sure you don't want that."

"Er, no. I think I'd rather not have to," Sora said, laughing nervously. "I'll head back up to deck three, then. Are you coming, Olette? You all settled in upstairs?"

Olette laughed a little. "Of course I am. I got on board back at Radiant Garden before they relocated the _Noon_ to the Destiny Islands. You guys are the ones who boarded late. I'm still getting settled down here, however, but I'll be heading that way shortly to get to bed. I hope you got your stuff up from where the crew stashed it on deck one."

"According to my surveillance records, Master Roxas, that is Master being used as an honourific and not a title, mind you, is the only person who has yet to regain his things. Apart from Miss Brightheart's travelling companion, however. He is still chained up on deck one," Noon reported. He paused. "Odd. He boarded the _High Noon_ while we were docked in Radiant Garden. It is unusual that he has not yet retrieved his personal belongings."

Sora gave Noon a confused look. "Traveling companion?"

"The murder happy warlock who likes burning things," Olette clarified.

"Oh, Richard," Sora said in comprehension. "I was wondering where he'd gone." He turned to Noon. "Let me and Naminé know the instant he breaks free. I don't care if we're asleep or in the shower or whatever. The instant Richard's free, let us know."

"As you command, sir," Noon replied, and then his hologram winked out of their sight.

"Well, it's about time to be hitting the old dusty trail," Sora arched his back as he spoke, filling the room with the popping sounds of the vertebrae in his spine and the joints in his shoulders. He even yawned, though that was unintentional. Olette yawned as well.

"You shouldn't have done that," she said thickly. "Now you've got me yawning."

"Don't be up too late," Sora said. "We don't want Nanny Noon tattling on us."

Olette dismissively waved her hand even as she laughed at the name. "Yeah. yeah. I'll be up soon." Sora gave her a nod and a wave as he exited the room, the door sliding shut behind him.

_-LD-_

_Deck Three_

_Kairi's Room_

Naminé did her best to hide her giggling as she watched Ozzy try to get past the pillow Kairi kept moving into his path. The poor wolf cub seemed shocked that the feather-filled cloth case always seemed to know where he was going.

Naminé's hair was still a little damp, but the dye job she and Nikki had worked was done. Her hair was now mostly a vibrant orange, with a healthy dose of deep violet coloring overlaying much of the crown of her head, though the bangs on the left side of her face were the new orange colour. It went surprisingly well with the white slip that she wore.

"It's good to see that he's not too shaken up by traveling in a Gummi ship," Naminé noted. Ozzy paced back and forth, clearly trying to find some way to get around his stuffed foe and climb into Kairi's yellow-clap lap. "I thought for certain he'd have a bit more trouble adjusting."

"He's a trooper," Kairi said with a laugh. She tossed aside her pillow and patted her leg. With an excited yip, Ozzy bounded straight for her. She placed her hand on the top of his head and started to scratch him between his ears. "Don't know why he can't get along with Sora, though."

"He probably thinks Sora's trying to take you away from him," Naminé giggled. "But you've seen how he acts. The only ones he lets close to you are me and mum."

"That's because Ozzy doesn't know anyone," Kairi said. "I'm sure given time he and Sora will come to an understanding that they both love me and become great friends. I swear Ozzy is smart enough to be human. Yes you are. Yes you are. Who's a smart wittle wolf cub?"

"Arf!"

"That's right! Come on, sleep time!"

"Are you going to be okay?" Naminé asked.

"Naminé I'll be fine," Kairi said tiredly. "Please don't start bringing this up again."

"Kairi, I'm just concerned, that's all," Naminé said softly. "Even with Ozzy around you still haven't been sleeping well." Kairi sighed.

"I'll be fine, Naminé," she insisted. "If anything happens, Sora's here now. I've always slept better when I've been with him."

"Kairi…"

"_Always._"

For a moment, Naminé felt like she should tell Kairi about the dreams that she had been having, or that she _hadn't_ been having anymore, but the moment passed. Kairi had enough on her plate already when it came to bad dreams and restless sleep after what she'd been through; there was no need to bother her further with her problems. She could always just unload on Roxas or Sora. Either of them would listen to her.

_Or would they?_ She asked herself. _Sure, they'd understand the dreams, but would they be willing to understand what the dreams made me do? Roxas might, but that's a longshot as it is. _Would Sora be able to forgive her? To understand she had no choice?

Naminé mentally shook her head, berating herself. This was Sora she was thinking of. Sora. Of course he'd forgive her. Of course he'd understand why; but...would everyone else, if they found out? That question still burning in the back of her mind, Naminé rose from Kairi's desk chair and bid her sister goodnight. One thing was for certain, as Naminé was painfully aware; neither of the two of them would be sleeping well that night.

_-LD-_

_Monday, November 15th 4794 P.C._

_Bridge of the _High Noon

As it would turn out, Naminé was only half right. She herself hadn't gotten a good night's sleep. Her sister on the other hand, had managed to find her way into Sora's room in the dead of night when her nightmares woke her up. Sora had calmed her down and, after cuddling together for a few minutes, the two returned to slumberland for the remainder of the night in undisturbed, peaceful sleep. Kairi looked more than content with that result as she and Sora joined the others on the bridge, having been informed moments before that they were in sight of their destination.

Naminé, on the other hand, felt and looked like she had been through hell and back in the span of a few hours. Looking at Kairi's face in the morning in the shared kitchenette as she fed Sora her homemade pancakes in an almost sickeningly sweet way made Naminé want to stab Kairi in the eye with her fork (not literally, of course), even with the compliments she received for her new hairstyle.

"Okay. That looks pretty awesome," Roxas said, drawing Naminé briefly out of her irritated musings as he and the others stared out of the great windows toward the bow of the bridge.

Their destination, the metaworld Sora had chosen, lay just before them. A swirling ball of bright blue and white lights, about the size that Sora's old Gummi ship used to be. Around it, at least half a dozen other small orbs made of of less vibrant, and dimmer lights were trapped in multiple orbits around the metaworld. A multi-colored cloud of dust surrounded the metaworld, spiraling around it as though it were being drawn in.

"I know how to pick 'em, don't I?" Sora said with a proud grin on his face.

"Now the real question is who all is going to be going down there?" Nanaki pointed out. "Any more than three or four of us could not only draw unwanted attention from the wrong people, but since we're a group of mostly Keyblade Wielders, going down in any group larger than that is bound to send the equivalent of a formal invitation to all Heartless to come and attack us."

"We could always play rock, paper, scissors to decide who goes down!" Namine held out her fist. "Who's in?"

"No," Nikki said sternly, folding her arms. "Only Sora and Naminé are allowed to go down."

"What? Why?" Kairi asked, surprised, and showing the beginnings of a pouty face.

"Because they're the only two who have swung by the med bay and actually bothered to get a check-up," Nikki replied. "I may be a fellow Keyblade Wielder on this ship, but I'm also your resident doctor. I'm not permitting anyone to go ashore unless they've gotten a check-up done." Nikki looked at Kairi. "And I especially want to give _you_ a check-up, Kairi."

"Why?" Kairi repeated.

"You took in a stray wolf cub out of the wilds and have been caring for it for four months! I don't know what kind of diseases or infections it may have been carrying that spread to you, and I'm not about to risk the health of the citizens of other worlds because of your pet." Nikki glanced down at the floor near Kairi's legs, where little Ozzy was sitting obediently at Kairi's side. The redhead immediately made a protective gesture towards the little wolf.

"Ozzy and I are clean! I got him to a vet the first week he was with us and he's been going twice a month. On top of that, I've been visiting my doctor once a month too, so we're all fine."

"Noon, lock the bridge to everyone but Sora and Naminé," Nikki said, a hint of reserved irritation in her tone.

"You got it," the AI replied. At once, the door to the elevator leading out of the bridge slammed tightly shut.

"Nobody gets to leave this ship unless I have given them a clean bill of health," she said, looking around at the group gathered at the window. "Effective immediately, all of you barring Sora and Naminé are under quarantine until I say so."

"She can't do that," Hayner said, though he didn't sound entirely sure that statement was true. "Right? She's not in charge."

"As our resident medical specialist, Doctor Case has the authority to quarantine anyone aboard the _High_ _Noon_ as she sees fit to help maintain a healthy environment." Noon's avatar flickered to life above Nikki's head. "So yes. She can do that."

"Oi, Dr. Case, does that mean us too?" Daniels asked from the helm.

"Depends," Nikki replied, turning to look at the two pilots. "Do you have any plans on going ashore to new and potentially hostile worlds where Heartless could be waiting around every corner?"

"What?" Jackhammer asked. "You mean with any of you and your key-shaped Heartless magnets? No thank you, doc. I'd rather stay up here, with the really big guns and powerful engines this baby is packing."

"Then you're clear. For the time being." Nikki glared down at the group before her. "Now then, who wants to be first in my medbay for their checkup?" Her eyes were locked firmly onto Kairi as she spoke, never once even glancing toward the others.

Her friends all stepped away from her, leaving Kairi standing by herself before Nikki like one of those choreographed 'call for volunteers' shots in films they had all seen. Panic setting in, Kairi desperately turned toward Sora and Namine in the hopes that they would offer her their help. "Sora, Naminé..."

"You heard the doctor, Kairi," Sora said apologetically, though his physical bearing was a little more wistful. "My hands are tied."

"Are you nuts?" Naminé asked. "Make enemies of the medicinal expert who could just as easily poison us as well as save us? No way, sis, I'm making her my buddy."

"Wise choice," Nikki said with amusement. "Well, come along Patient A, the doctor will see you now." Nikki grabbed hold of Kairi's wrist and started to drag the redhead away.

"Just no needles, alright? I don't like needles!"

"Then you're going to _love_ meeting Rick."

"You two are so dead when I get my hands on you!" Kairi shouted. Her eyes were glaring daggers right into Sora and Naminé.

"Bye Kairi," Sora said while waving.

"Have _fuuuun_," Naminé added. "We're doomed, aren't we?" Naminé asked Sora in an aside.

"Totally. We'd better get off this ship before she escapes the med bay."

_-LD-_

_Tuesday, November 16th, 4794, P.C.  
_Dawn's First Light Mk. 2

"And that makes eight consecutive wins," Dawn said with a certain degree of smugness in her voice. "Check-mate!"

"I'll get you next time," Riku told her with surety in his own voice.

"You said that the last three times you challenged me," Dawn reminded him. "I don't understand why you seem to think that you can defeat an AI at chess."

"Because I used to be able to beat the computers at school," Riku grumbled as the holographic pieces put themselves back into the starting position. He actually really liked this chess set. The pieces all looked like little soldiers and knights, and they moved realistically and actually attacked one another rather than simply removing the other piece from the board.

"Are you calling me dumb?" Dawn said with a laugh through the song playing from the speakers of her media player. "I can always lower the difficulty for you if you want."

"Are you calling me dumb?" Riku quoted back at her, his expression less than amused.

"_...I'm out of shape, fattening up, I'm sipping Coke from a solo cup. Donut crumbs are upon my lips, whoa!"_

"I could always run the tutorial program if you'd like."

"Now you're just patronizing me. I'm not Sora, you know. I don't need a tutorial program on how to play chess."

"_The TV's on. I really hate this show; I can't reach my remote control. Welcome to a new place, to my new place. Sorry it's a cramped space, but it's my place."_

"Really? You don't need a tutorial? Then why didn't you castle your king the last two games when castling would have improved your odds of success by twelve point three percent?"

"Because I'm not a human calculator, Dawn."

"_Whoa oh oh oh, whoa oh oh I'm really inactive, I'm so inactive! Whoa oh oh oh, whoa oh oh I'm really inactive, highly inactive!"_

"Thinking of, you've been something of a couch potato these past two days," Dawn pointed out. "Are you sure your health is fine?"

"I'm fine," Riku replied promptly.

"_My muscles gone; I'm atrophied. Always lose my fight with gravity…"_

"Why do you patronize Sora so much, Riku?" Dawn asked inquisitively. The board turned around to place the 'white' pieces in front of Riku. "You may go first this time."

"Well, I don't really…" Riku began before his voice trailed away as he thought about his opening move.

"_...I rest my bones, and just chillax, whoa!"_

"I do not get the feeling that Sora is as unintelligent as you try to make him," Dawn continued. "So why is it that you mock him as if he is?"

"Sora hasn't always made the smartest decisions and is pretty gullible," Riku answered.

"And you have?" Dawn replied with skepticism. "It has become my impression of humans over these past several months that you are all rather illogical beings, acting irrationally to many real or perceived stimuli yet always considering yourselves as rational and logical creatures. It is a great contradiction that you may sit here and patronize Master Sora's intellect while playing a game of chess against an AI, but you are then insulted when I make the same gesture towards you." A few turns had passed during this time, and Dawn sighed. "Are you really trying to defeat me with this painfully obviously telegraphed quick-victory stratagem?" She immediately moved to counter the plot, putting a frown on Riku's face.

"You know that I don't actually mean anything I'm saying about Sora, right?" He grumbled as he moved another piece to change up his strategy. Dawn hummed softly as she claimed Riku's unprotected bishop. "He's smart, sure, but he doesn't always think before rushing in. Makes teasing him a bit easier."

Dawn's humming came to an abrupt end. "If you say so," the AI said. For a brief moment, her avatar flickered on the table, drawing a look of concern from Riku. "Oh! We've arrived."

"We've what now?"

Dawn flipped the music off while it was in the final chorus and Riku got to his feet and left the kitchen where they had been playing behind. It took him less than a minute to walk up to the bridge of the _Dawn_. Through the viewport, he could see a large orb of swirling gray and blue light directly in front of the _Dawn_. The orb was several times the size of his ship, and had at least twenty other smaller orbs of colored light orbiting it in a perfect, singular ring-shape.

"I'm very impressed with myself. I managed to milk that Warp Gummi for all she was worth," Dawn's proud voice announced. "And here my calculations showed it would take us several more days to get here. I am good."

"Dawn, where are we?" He asked as he stared at the displays around him.

"We've arrived at the anomaly." Dawn's avatar appeared on one of the bridge's monitors. "Though, the correct term for it is technically a metaworld."

"You knew what it was called and you didn't tell me?" Riku sat down in the pilot's seat as he spoke. "Why?"

"I only received that information a couple of days ago," Dawn huffed. "You can thank Olette for that, by the way."

"So how do we get into this metaworld?" Riku's eyes scanned the various orbs of light as he tried to find a solid surface or something semi-solid to land on.

"Fly us right into the center light," Dawn said. "The lights you're seeing act as gateways, but only the center leads to the metaworld proper. The other orbs are just echoworlds, imitations and attempts to be what the metaworld is."

"Center light it is," Riku said, taking hold of the _Dawn_'s controls and kicking the engines into full. "I hope you're right about this."

Dawn's avatar flickered again as the _Dawn_ rocketed into the center orb of light. "As do I. But I'm not worried."

Riku stared at her in disbelief as light engulfed the ship making it next to impossible to see anything. He was so focused on Dawn, that he failed to notice the flashing red sign on his monitor displaying '**INCOMING MESSAGE**'.

"Did you just make a backup of yourself?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

_-LD-_

**INCOMING MESSAGE**

**INCOMING MESSAGE**

**INCOMING MESSAGE**

**044657 . 04 . 21 . 21 . 34 . 56**

WARNING!

By order of Ecumene Council, proximity to Installation 04 is forbidden.

Your continued presence will result in _most _unpleasant countermeasures.

I must insist that you immediately change course and return to a minimum safe distance of _one lightyear_.

**Pillar of Autumn - Data Acquisition**

**1345 . 99 . 331 . 1 - 1390 . 33 . 124 . 6**

**Remote Access Limited**

**Dawn's First Light Mark 2 - Data Acquisition**

**0328 . 07 . 570 . 8 - 0329 . 13 . 007 . 3**

**Remote Access Limited**

This has served as your one and _final _warning.

**Installation Defensive Systems Online**

**TARGET ACQUIRED**

**30 SECONDS TO DESTRUCTION**

I have activated defensive systems, and you now have thirty seconds to return to the minimum safe distance of-

_Wait_.

Curious…

Curious, indeed! After all these years!

**SUSPENDED**

**CLEARED**

**Installation Defensive Systems Offline**

**CONFIRMATION**

**4-000002**

**CLEARED TRAJECTORY**

Greetings, Humans! And welcome to Installation 04! Ignore prior warnings and please continue.

**WARNING**

**YOUR TRAJECTORY HAS NOT BEEN ADJUSTED**

**PLEASE LOCK IN NEW TRAJECTORY**

I have disabled defensive systems to allow your approach, but you must not exit your ship once you have arrived at the designated landing center.

This ring contains significant dangers, and even with your assumed legacy, I must verify the presence of each of your geas before allowing full access.

We have much to discuss, Humans!

I have been away far too long!

_You_ have been away far too long.

_-LD-_

* * *

_In case you were wondering, the music playing in the background of Riku and Dawn's chess game was "Inactive" by 'Weird Al' Yankovic. I'll put a link to the song on the Looming Darkness Facebook page later today._

_So there you have it! The only anniversary chapter in Looming Darkness so far, and hopefully not the last!_

_I'll admit, it's not the most exciting chapter, but I never really planned for the excitement to really kick off until Chapter Three anyway. I needed this chapter to establish the _High Noon _as it's going to be a prominent feature for the storylines revolving around Sora and the others traveling aboard her._

_I also needed this chapter to introduce the concept of metaworlds, which is something I've had stewing around in my head since about early 2011, so I'm glad to finally have it out there. _

_I'd like to thank __**Shire Folk**__ for his help in getting this chapter out by today. And for hounding me to stop procrastinating. _

_Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! And stay tuned for the next one!_

_**-Shadow Horizons**_


End file.
